Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 74,700 people employed as dietitians and nutritionists in the United States. The median annual salary is $61,650. Entry level employees earn approximately $42,530 per year and senior employees earn approximately $93,640 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Select, train, and supervise workers who plan, prepare, and serve meals.
• Make recommendations regarding public policy, such as nutrition labeling, food fortification, or nutrition standards for school programs.
• Manage quantity food service departments or clinical and community nutrition services.
• Monitor food service operations to ensure conformance to nutritional, safety, sanitation and quality standards.
• Inspect meals served for conformance to prescribed diets and standards of palatability and appearance.
• Purchase food in accordance with health and safety codes.
• Develop policies for food service or nutritional programs to assist in health promotion and disease control.
• Test new food products and equipment.
• Confer with design, building, and equipment personnel to plan for construction and remodeling of food service units.
• Organize, develop, analyze, test, and prepare special meals, such as low-fat, low-cholesterol, or chemical-free meals.
• Advise food service managers and organizations on sanitation, safety procedures, menu development, budgeting, and planning to assist with establishment, operation, and evaluation of food service facilities and nutrition programs.
• Prepare and administer budgets for food, equipment, and supplies.
• Plan, conduct, and evaluate nutrigenomic or nutrigenetic research.
• Coordinate recipe development and standardization and develop new menus for independent food service operations.
• Plan and prepare grant proposals to request program funding.
• Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.
• Evaluate laboratory tests in preparing nutrition recommendations.
• Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
• Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans, diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
• Incorporate patient cultural, ethnic, or religious preferences and needs in the development of nutrition plans.
• Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient or client.
• Plan and conduct training programs in dietetics, nutrition, and institutional management and administration for medical students, health-care personnel, and the general public.
• Write research reports and other publications to document and communicate research findings.
• Record and evaluate patient and family health and food history, including symptoms, environmental toxic exposure, allergies, medication factors, and preventive health-care measures.
• Develop recipes and menus to address special nutrition needs, such as low glycemic, low histamine, or gluten- or allergen-free.
• Coordinate diet counseling services.
• Develop curriculum and prepare manuals, visual aids, course outlines, and other materials used in teaching.
• Plan, conduct, and evaluate dietary, nutritional, and epidemiological research.

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