Nutrition is a growing field as more and more of us become interested in, or have concerns about, our diets. The responsibilities of a nutritionist may include planning meals for hospital and nursing home patients in accordance to suit their nutritional and medical needs. Or a nutritionist might be employed by a soccer team to assist with the diets of its players. Some nutritionists are self-employed, advising a range of people on all facets of nutrition, from athletes to politicians.
To become a nutritionist, the minimum requirement is to gain a Bachelor’s Degree, and most US states also require a certification or license or certification. If you are still in high school and know that this is the path you want to follow, you are advised to continue studying the following subjects: maths, biology, chemistry and health. If you don’t like science, this is not the career for you!
Many universities and colleges in the United States offer accredited programs to study nutrition. You must attend the university or college for at least four years in order to be awarded your Bachelor’s Degree. Foods and Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Service Systems Management are acceptable fields, and there are others. The duration of your degree must have included courses covering following areas: nutrition, foods, biology, microbiology, chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and institutional management. Courses in sociology, economics, computer science, statistics and business may also be useful. In addition, you may have to spend a certain number of hours doing work experience within a health care environment, depending on your particular college. This is considered an important part of your training as you will need to show that you can work well with the public, often patients of medical facilities who may be quite ill.
Nutritionists are required to have excellent verbal communication skills, as they will spend so much of their working day interacting with patients and their families, social workers, nurses, doctors and other health care professionals. Record-keeping is a must, so computer skills are extremely useful, as are organizational skills.
It is important to research the particular requirements of your state before commencing your course in nutrition. The majority of US states have laws in place relating to the standards required of nutritionists, and you will need to establish what type of license or certification is required of you.
A career in the health care industry can be rewarding and secure – there will always be a demand for skilled nutritionists and as it is a growing field there will be plenty of future opportunities. There is good potential for promotion within the field, particularly if you have good management skills.
A nutritionist’s salary is pretty good: the average income is listed by The Department of Labor as around $42,000 and can rise to around $60,000. However most nutritionists are motivated by the intrinsic benefits of the job rather than the financial ones, but there is still the chance to earn a comfortable living doing a job you enjoy and one of the greatest rewards is that you are helping people live healthier lives.
Comments on this entry are closed.