Dietitians and Nutritionists
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1031.00United States
Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease. May supervise activities of a department providing quantity food services, counsel individuals, or conduct nutritional research.
- Median annual earnings
- $75,159
- Projected change
- +10.9%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 87.48K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
63.3% of the workforce
Growing to 96.98K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What dietitians and nutritionists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $45,781
- 25th percentile
- $60,310
- 50th percentile
- $75,159
- 75th percentile
- $91,956
- 90th percentile
- $118,278
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $75,159 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+10.9%faster than average
202587,476 jobs
2035 projected96,976 jobs
9,500 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 63.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 33.3%
- Associate degree
- 3.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Dietary Aides24,617 postings
- 02Registered Dietitians13,780 postings
- 03Dietitians7,988 postings
- 04Clinical Dietitians5,183 postings
- 05Registered Dietitians/Nutritionists1,201 postings
- 06Dietitians/Nutritionists1,048 postings
- 07Cooks/Dietary Aides1,032 postings
- 08Culinary Aides861 postings
- 09Nutritionists780 postings
- 10Clinical Registered Dietitians740 postings
- 11Dietary Managers682 postings
- 12Clinical Nutrition Managers582 postings
- 13Certified Dietary Managers499 postings
- 14Inpatient Clinical Dietitians489 postings
- 15Nutrition Services Aides451 postings
- 16Outpatient Dietitians389 postings
- 17Diet Aides384 postings
- 18Dietary Assistants366 postings
- 19WIC Nutritionists326 postings
- 20Dietary Supervisors289 postings
Top employers
- 01Healthcare Services Group5,429 postings
- 02Compass Group2,613 postings
- 03MedStar957 postings
- 04Encompass Health846 postings
- 05Sodexo782 postings
- 06DaVita758 postings
- 07Morrison Healthcare660 postings
- 08Aramark656 postings
- 09Fresenius610 postings
- 10Aya Healthcare492 postings
- 11Life Care Centers of America492 postings
- 12Cura Hospitality479 postings
- 13Elior Group460 postings
- 14HCA Healthcare389 postings
- 15Intermountain Health388 postings
- 16Dietitians On Demand365 postings
- 17Trilogy Health Services326 postings
- 18Hhs Culinary And Nutrition Solutions274 postings
- 19PruittHealth264 postings
- 20United States Department of Veterans Affairs262 postings
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