Job Search Manual

Being a dietician is a great career choice.  Dieticians and Nutritionists are required in places such as schools and hospitals.  They create nutrition programs and oversee the preparing and serving of meals.  Their main duty is to educate people about healthy eating habits.  Dieticians and Nutritionists are also supposed to conduct research to prevent and treat illnesses and encourage healthy living.  Categories of dieticians are further divided in to many sections.  There are clinical dieticians who work with individual patients at nursing care facilities, hospitals etc. to determine their specific nutritional needs.  They are good at treating obese, diabetic, and heart disease patients.  They can also manage the food service department at an institution.  Community dieticians work in home health agencies, health maintenance organization and public health clinics.  They are specialized in educating people on good nutritional habits.  Another category is of Management dieticians who oversee other food safety workers and dieticians.  They supervise meal planning for large places like prisons, health care facilities, schools, cafeterias etc.  They enforce safety and sanitation.  Management dieticians also keep tabs at appointing workers, budgeting food and supplies etc.

A Consultant dietician helps clients with issues such as cholesterol reduction and weight loss.

There are many factors one can consider about choosing this career.  The first step is to take courses like Chemistry, Biology, Communications and Mathematics in School.  Then you also require the minimum of a bachelors degree in an area like food service systems, dietetics or foods and nutrition.  They are different criterias to practice indifferent states.  Some require a license, certification and/or registration, others require the Registered dietician credential.  One can gain supervised practice in two ways.  One-way is a 900 supervised practice to be completed at one of the 264 accredited internships.  Full time internships last from six to twelve month while part-time take 2 years to complete.  The other way is to complete on of the fifty accredited coordinated programs.  Dieticians can also specialize in areas like pediatric or renal dieticians.

These are many good employment opportunities under this career option. Increased public interest in nutrition has increased the job opportunities in food manufacturing, advertising and marketing.  These areas have great demand for dieticians.