Nutrition careers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all revolve around creating healthy meals, diet plans, and food choices for the patients or clients that nutritionists are assisting. Dieticians, nutritionists, dietetic technicians, food service managers, and health educators are just a few of the nutrition careers available.
A dietician is one of the most common nutrition careers. Dieticians can work in a wide range of settings and organizations. Hospitals, schools, and nursing homes are among the companies that hire dieticians. Dieticians educate hospital patients, schoolchildren, and nursing home residents on how to eat healthy. Dieticians may even devise a specific meal plan for the individual to follow, particularly if the individual requires dietary control for health reasons such as diabetes or obesity.
Dieticians and nutritionists work together to create nutrition programs for a variety of organizations. A nutritionist can also work with individuals on a one-on-one basis. A client, for example, might hire a nutritionist to come to her home once a week and plan out her weekly menu. Some nutritionists prepare meals for their clients, while others simply give them a meal plan and recipes to follow.
Those interested in nutrition careers are frequently not working alone. These experts may collaborate with other health professionals such as doctors, fitness instructors, and personal trainers.
Dietetic technicians are another option for those interested in nutrition. Dietetic technicians are essentially dieticians or nutritionists’ assistants. These professionals carry out the same tasks as nutritionists and dieticians, but they are supervised by dieticians or nutritionists. These types of nutrition career opportunities are frequently entry-level positions that allow an individual to gain hands-on experience before moving up the career ladder to a dietician or nutritionist position.
Food service managers are also included in the category of nutrition careers. Food service managers are usually employed by restaurants, but they may also be in charge of food service areas such as a hospital or a school cafeteria. Food service managers make sure that the nutritional laws and regulations that apply to the food they serve are followed.
Food service managers may collaborate with nutritionists and dieticians to prepare special meals for patients or students with special dietary needs, particularly in hospitals and school cafeterias.