This article contains information on the list of Careers in Nutrition and Dietetics.
Have you ever imagined how life would have been without food? I don’t even want to imagine it. Food is a very essential need of man. No one can ever survive without food for a long period of time.
The amount and quality of food people put into their bodies determines how they look and feel on a daily. Despite this face, a lot of people are unbothered about the quality of food they consume. This is where professionals in this field come in.
A career in nutrition and dietetics is centered on educating people about healthy eating habits and alternative ways to manage their health issues. In this article, we discuss the most popular careers in nutrition and answer a few frequently asked questions. Some involve creating dietary plans to manage medical conditions or achieve specific health goals like weight loss.
The field of nutrition is a very exciting one, as it involves many aspects of consumables. You may choose a career in nutrition fire many reasons, either from personal experience with feeding habit, the desire to help others manage a chronic medical condition with appropriate dietary choices, etc.
There are various careers in this field. As a professional in food and nutrition, you have the opportunity to be in many work settings, like offices, labs, hospitals, schools, restaurants and other places where food exists in some form.
Dietitians are healthcare professionals who have met prescribed educational and licensing standards. If you have a qualification in this field without a clue of possible career paths, here are a few options to consider:
LIST OF CAREERS IN FOOD NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
1. Food Technologist
In no particular order, the first on the list of careers in nutrition and dietetics is food technology.
The primary duties of a food technologist includes designing and organizing shelf-life, industrial testing during food development process. They also carry out research on how to improve food and drink products. This is to ensure that ingredients are used in the right proportion and that finished goods meet the regulatory requirements.
2. Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (Rdn)
Another career in nutrition is dietetics. Dietitian specialize in counseling people about diet as well as developing eating plans which are basically for disease management and promotion of long term health and well-being. Added to their duties are monitoring patient’s progress and adjustment of meal plans.
Like food technologist, they might also conduct nutritional research. As a registered Dietitian there are different specializations in this field. They include:
- Oncology dietitian: They are dietics who specialize helping cancer patients get the nutrition they need
- Pediatric dietitian: Like the name depicts, experts here focuses on children’s nutrition. As such, they are responsible for designing eating plans that supplies the nutrition children require growing well. As experts who deal in children’s nutrition, they also have direct contact with parents of these children. Thus, if you must go for this career, you must be able to communicate effectively with people of all ages. Pediatric dietitians have job opportunities in schools, hospitals and community clinics.
- Sports dietitian: RDNs can also become certified in sports dietetics through the Commission on Dietetic Registration. These professionals use their nutritional expertise to make dietary plans that enhance the health and performance of athletes.
- Clinical Dietitian: As an Rdn, you can also special to become a clinical dietitian. Experts here are responsible for developing nutritional plans to enhance the health of people undergoing treatment in hospitals. This is achieved by assessing the dietary requirements and health challenges of the patient. From the information gathered, a meal plan that is nutritionally balanced is designed.
3. Caterer
Road side caterers have what it takes knowledge-wise and experience, but with a qualification in nutrition and dietetics, you can build a standard career in catering.
As one with experience in nutrition, your duties will not only be the preparation, transportation and serving of food at special events like weddings and birthday celebrations, you will consider the nutritional level of what is prepared. Typically, you are expected to standout from others.
4. Naturopath
You may not have come across this career before but you may have but not with this title.
Naturopaths assist patients who are seeking alternatives to orthodox medicine. They mainly focus on natural remedies and treatment plans that mostly include nutritional supplements, herbal medicine and diet therapy to help the body.
5. Food Product Development Scientist
Although a bachelor’s degree is enough to qualify for this, higher degrees are required for many top positions in this field. Food product development scientists are responsible for discovering new means of improving the flavour, nutritional value and safety of food products.
They also create processes and formulas used to improve food quality while ensuring cost control.
6. Public Health Nutritionist
They are registered dieticians. As experts in this field, they are responsible for improving the nutritional habits and general health of the public, which could be a given community or group. Basically, they are trained to work for the public, not individual clients. They identify nutritional problems and in turn develop programs and means to address these issues.
Hence, possible duties include the following:
- Identifying nutrition problems within a community or population
- Developing strategies that helps improve nutrition
- Make available educational resources to the community to help them make better nutritional choices.
- Developing meal plans based on needs, cost, and culture of a given community.
- Work with others to ensure maximum benefit from proper diet is possible
- Promote better nutrition in general.
7. Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Every career in this field basically revolves around food. For everything that is consumables, there are always laid down rules by bodies that put the production processes in check. In this case, the food and dietary legislation as well as conduct regular reviews of processes.
Regulatory affairs specialists make sure that the development and production of food items meet all applicable laws.
In other words, their duty is to ensure that the company they work for doesn’t operate outside the rules. Most employers look for a degree in nutrition, food science, or a related field. So, if you have any of these qualifications, this is a perfect fit.
8. Food Safety Auditor
To fit into this career, you’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree.
Food safety auditors are responsible for reviewing and analyzing the safety and sanitation procedures in companies that process, manufacture, or serve food products to the public. They majorly carryout inspection, writes reports, and sometimes enlightens workers on policies and procedures in food production.
9. Wellness Consultant
Do you know that with your degree, you don’t necessarily need to work for any organization as a full time staff? As a Consultant, you can choose to become self-employed as a private wellness Consultant; although a good number of private businesses and corporations are employing wellness consultants to provide guidance on healthy eating habits. These consultants might offer general tips on nutrition and health or lead seminars on how office workers can manage stress or avoid fatigue.
10. Nutrition Services Manager
A number of times, parents constantly lament of having their kids return from board schools looking so malnourished. This is where the services of a nutrition manager come in. Schools, care facilities, hospitals and others rely on the services of nutrition managers to plan and coordinate the large-scale delivery of nutritionally appropriate meals.
This role entails planning menus, procurement, managing budgets, and supervising food preparation. At least a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, dietetics, or food services management is needed for this role.
11. Food Labeling Specialist
Normally, some brands do not understand that there’s more to labeling than just contracting the work to random designers to put up just any write-up.
For some brands, they can get away with this but for food companies, labelling is a very serious case that isn’t taken for granted. For this reason, food labeling specialists are responsible for coming up with the nutritional labels on food products. They ensure that product ingredients, nutritional facts, and warnings are accurate and in line with industry regulations.
There are also special labels that random producers are not permitted to use except it’s approved. Food labeling specialists might also be in charge of getting the legal approval to use such labels. Examples of such labels are labels carrying “gluten-free”. With a bachelor’s degree in food science you’re qualified for this.
12. Nutrition Writer
Writing is so vast and not restricted to a particular niche. What really matters is that you have information to pass to an interested audience. Like we have relationship and motivational writers, with your qualification, you can take to becoming a nutritional writer.
As a nutrition writer, you could channel your food and diet expertise into ebooks, blog posts, magazine articles, or web contents. There are a thousand and one things to write about on nutrition and diet. Your topics could include anything from trends in healthy eating to the latest research on specific nutrients or even diets for a particular set of patients, for instance, diabetic patients.
So, if you don’t wish to be associated in any of the aforementioned careers, you can sell your knowledge by packaging in writing.
CONCLUSION
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of health issues of which most of them are attributed to the food we consume. With all of these, experts in nutrition and dietetics are constantly sought after by all and sundry, and in various capacities.
So, having a degree in this field is something to be proud of as there are numerous career opportunities available in different Institutions such as schools, hospitals, and other corporate organizations.
Are you still confused about what to do with your degree? There might just be a school that is in need of a meal and diet planner for the students. This is just to mention but a few opportunities.
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