One of the employment areas that consistently has many needs for workers is the healthcare industry, and one of the most flourishing area for careers is nutrition. It seems that people are constantly searching for ways to become healthier and to improve how they are eating. This is where dietitians come in. Dietitians or nutritionists are the individuals that are considered experts on diet and how it affects a human being's system. They have studied nutrition in depth and they know what you should and should not be eating to achieve optimum health. When looking for dietitian careers it is important to realize that there are a couple of different avenues that you can go down.
A nutritionist or dietitian is basically the same. The only real difference between these careers is that to get employment as a dietitian you must be a registered professional. The registration requirements for dietitian employment will vary from state to state. It is the states job to ensure that you are fully qualified to counsel individuals on their own health and nutritional requirements. It is important that you know what you are talking about in this type of employment because people are depending on you for their own health and well being.
Dietitian careers are not limited to purely working one on one with clients. There are also community dietitians. Individuals who pursue careers as community dietitians are basically in charge of monitoring the nutrition of a community. This means that you need to be incredibly well versed in nutrition for individuals of all ages from children to senior citizens. These types of careers can be found in either private companies or government careers.
There is also employment available as management dietitians. This type of employment is where an individual actually monitors a food safety program. In this type of career you will supervise how the meals are created along with the nutritional components that are built into each meal. Careers like this can often be found in restaurants, corporate cafeterias, school districts, or retirement communities.
The basic qualifications to become a dietitian start with achieving a four year degree from an accredited college or university. You major should be food safety or a field similar to this that will give you the foundation for your employment in the nutritional field. Again, you will want to check out your individual states requirements so that you can actively pursue any necessary requirements or qualifications in addition to achieving a basic bachelor’s degree.
Once you get your degree your work is not done. While you are pursuing your classroom education you may want to try to get employment experience by participating in an internship. There are many different internships available and some are paid while others are unpaid. More often than not you can get some college credit for your participation in an internship. This type of experience will not only prove to be valuable throughout your career, but it may actually open doors toward that career for you. You will make valuable contacts that can help you to secure employment as a dietitian.
To achieve employment as a dietitian you must realize that it is going to take some work. You will need to pursue your education actively as well as any supplemental education or experience that your individual state may have set out. Additionally, gaining career experience through an internship can be a really wonderful piece of experience for you as well as something that might open doors or even make you more marketable to prospective employers. Though it will take work, there are few careers that are as vital and rewarding as that of a nutritionist. Rest assured that by making this career change you will be embarking on a journey that will be not only rewarding for yourself, but it will also positively affect everyone that you have the opportunity to work with. There are not a lot of careers out there that can give you that wonderful opportunity.
