How to Become a Dietician

In the simplest terms, a dietician is someone who educates others on how to eat properly. Dieticians may conduct nutritional research, plan nutritional programs and often supervise activities of a facility providing food services. Dieticians can be employed at hospitals, schools, nursing homes, in prison systems, day care facilities and often in private industry. With an emphasis today on weight management through proper nutrition, the demand for qualified dieticians is high; this may be a course of study you would like to pursue.

If you are still in high school and want to know how to become a dietician, your first step is to ask your guidance counselor for help in choosing a college that offers a degree in dietetics, or one in food and nutrition or food service management. If you have long passed the high school years, you can still pursue this course of education and become a dietician, you will simply have to do more research on your own to find the school that fits your needs.

You can find a listing of colleges and universities which offer programs to become a Registered Dietician or Dietitic Technician by going to the website for the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education at: www.eatright.org/CADE/content.aspx?id=73.

Concentrate on science courses such as biology, psychology, sociology and of course nutrition. You may also want to take microbiology, mathematics, computer science and institutional management courses which will all be helpful in your course of study. It will be helpful to take a composition course to improve your writing skills. Of course, you will also need to complete the general education courses required for a bachelor’s degree.

Once you have received your bachelor’s degree, you may also be required to do an internship. The department head at your college should be able to provide you with the specific requirements for the internship – at least 900 hours of supervised experience are generally required, but it may be more in your state.

You will then need to take an exam to become a registered dietician and pass it. The Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) will confer your credentials upon you. These credentials will allow you to work in health care and medical settings. This is separate from state licensure; 46 states have enacted legislation regulating the practice of dietetics. So, again, you will need to check out the licensure info for your particular state, which can be found at the ADA site: http://www.cdrnet.org/certifications/licensure/agencylist.cfm.

You may want to continue your education and get a master’s degree depending upon your goals. Dieticians who choose to work in research or public health often are required to have this advanced degree. Rather than going to school full-time, you can work part-time and go to school part-time.

Even after you have received your credentials it will be necessary to maintain them by taking continuing education courses. Generally you will be required to complete 75 credit hours every 5 years of courses approved by the ADA.

What Can a Dietician Earn?

Of course, that depends on where you're living, but on the average nationwide, a Dietitic Technician, one who works under the supervision of a dietician, earns approximately $28,000 per year, while a Dietician earns over $50,000 per year.

For those struggling with their eating habits and weight, a dietician can be the lifeline they need. A dietician encourages and teaches clients to make lasting dietary changes that can affect a life in a myriad of ways. Now that you know how to become a dietician, what are you waiting for?

Synonyms: detician, ditician, dietcian, dietiian, dietican, diefician, dieticin, dieticain, di3etician, die3tician, di4etician, die4tician, diefician, d8etician, d9etician, di3tician, di4tician are typos for Dietician.