If you pursue this type of work, you may provide food and nutrition services to individuals and groups in a variety of settings and may work in specialty areas such as weight management, oncology, or pediatrics.
Depending on the job and workplace, you might plan diets and educate patients about how to eat properly to help manage a disease such as diabetes. Or, you may manage menus and food service operations at a school cafeteria or work in product development for a food manufacturer. Another option is to teach at colleges and universities and do advanced research on topics like the impact of nutrition in developing regions around the globe—or how food insecurity impacts the homeless.
You might even start your own company and consult with individuals and families about everyday meal plans for eating healthy. Some dietitians plan diets for patients; some will do advanced research on the impact of nutrition in developing regions around the globe; some will work on such exotic challenges as feeding astronauts on the Space Station. The common denominator of these various jobs is that the work entails a deep understanding of the sciences of food, nutrition, management, and communication; biological sciences, genetics, pharmacology, chemistry, biochemistry; and physiological, behavioral and social sciences.
I love the profession and the variety of work available to me as an RDN. Dietitians work in a number of fields and in a number of environments. Following are the settings in which you might typically work:. These jobs are typically in hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities. Many develop specific expertise in areas such as diabetes, eating disorders, cancer, pediatrics, and kidney disease. Working for local, state and national government agencies, professionals in this sector work on programs to educate and advise the public about healthy eating; focusing especially on the needs of families, children, pregnant women, and seniors.
If you choose this pathway, you may work in your own business or for a firm that provides staffing to health care or food companies on contract. Dietitians in this segment often provide individual nutrition screening or assessment, weight loss guidance, and nutrition counseling for clients, including those with diet-related health issues.
This area appeals to creative, business-oriented, and entrepreneurial types. Using your knowledge and training, you may work in areas like consumer affairs, public relations, marketing, sales, or product development. You may even work in specialty retail stores helping shoppers identify nutritious meal options for their families. Some RDs and RDNs have a knack for organization and process management and choose to manage institutional food service operations for schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities.
Dietitians with solid experience in operations or general management may also move into senior management and leadership positions in healthcare organizations, food industry companies, trade organizations, and other businesses. There are opportunities for teaching and doing primary research for individuals in this field with advanced degrees at universities, medical centers, teaching hospitals, governmental agencies, pharmaceutical companies, food industry companies, and other organizations.
To become an RD, you must:. RDs who want to emphasize the nutrition aspect of their credential may use the RDN credential. The RDN credential is identical to the RD credential and indicates the same level of education and training.
About half of all RDs choose to pursue a graduate education, and many pursue CDR Board Certification in specialized areas of practice, such as diabetes education, pediatric nutrition, and senior nutrition.
Unlike the dietitian profession, there is no uniform definition for a nutritionist. Even in states that define nutritionists, statutes and regulations vary. It is important to keep in mind that in 16 states, only RDs can perform nutrition counseling and in another 10 states, only RDs can obtain a state-issued credential.
This has created significant barriers to practice for nutritionists in many parts of the country. You can read more about the push to recognize and license nutritionists here.
The path to becoming a nutritionist is less well-defined and less rigid. Most employers and most states that license nutritionists require nutritionists to:. Nutrition Jobs It may seem rather simplistic at first glance eat this, not that , but a career in diet and nutrition is far more complex and multifaceted than first meets the eye.
Sponsored School s. Bachelor's degree required. No GRE required. George Washington University's Online Master's in Integrative Medicine with a Concentration in Nutrition specialize in promoting health and wellness through nutrition. Liberty University's Master of Science in Human Performance - Nutrition combines two areas that are a natural fit in the field of health and wellness to give you a deep understanding of the role nutrition plays in optimizing athletic performance.
Educational programs may be in one of the following categories:.
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