Dietician

Dieticians coordinate food and nutrition programs and oversee the preparation of meals. They encourage healthier eating through dietary education; manage food plans for hospitals and schools, and research diet and nutrition.

Clinical dieticians work in hospitals or nursing facilities, and consult on the nutritional content of the meal plans these institutions provide. Community dietitians work to educate and inform the people of a community about nutrition, and typically work in public health clinics, home health agencies, and HMOs. Management dieticians work in healthcare facilities, company cafeterias, prisons, and schools where meal planning occurs on a large scale, and run the whole operation. Consultant dieticians essentially work as freelancers, contracting their services to organizations ranging from hospitals to sports teams.

A prospective dietician should have diagnostic skills, communication skills, social skills and, if they are consultant dietician, they must be business-savvy.

Education and Credentials Required
Thirty states require dieticians be licensed. Fifteen more require them to be certified, and one merely stipulates they need to be registered. The ADA's Commission on Dietetic Registration awards the Registered Dietician credential to candidates who pass their exam and have demonstrable education and experience in the field. Dieticians typically have a bachelors’ degree but it is not strictly necessary everywhere.

Nurses and technicians learn sonography in order to increase their marketability. Typically it takes one year to acquire a certificate for people already in the healthcare field. One can become registered through the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS), which improves the odds of finding work as employers typically hire registered. You must pass a general physics exam along with a specialty exam in order to register, and must keep your registration current with continuing education courses.

Future Prospects
Employment opportunities for dieticians will most likely grow at the same rate as the national average. People’s increasing awareness of health and nutritional issues will drive the increased demand for dieticians.

Salary Range
The median salary, as of 2002, for Dieticians was $41,170. The top ten percent salary-wise made more than $58,700, whereas the bottom ten percent made less than $25,520. Experience, location, skill, reputation, hours worked and other factors impact income. Self-employed dieticians can expect to earn significantly more than salaried dieticians. Experience, location, skill, reputation, hours worked and other factors impact income. Dieticians must pay for their own health benefits and retirement benefits if they are self-employed.