 Career
Path Forecast
Employment of
dietitians and nutritionists is expected to increase 9 percent during
the 2008-18 projection decade, about as fast as the average for all
occupations. Job growth will result from an increasing emphasis on
disease prevention through improved dietary habits. A growing and aging
population will boost demand for nutritional counseling and treatment in
hospitals, residential care facilities, schools, prisons, community
health programs, and home healthcare agencies. Public interest in
nutrition and increased emphasis on health education and prudent
lifestyles also will spur demand, especially in food service management.
Also, with increased
public awareness of obesity and diabetes, Medicare coverage has been
expanded to include medical nutrition therapy for renal and diabetic
patients, creating job growth for dietitians and nutritionists
specializing in those diseases.
 Employment
growth, however, may be constrained if some employers substitute other
workers, such as health educators, food service managers, and dietetic
technicians, to do work related to nutrition. Also, demand for
nutritional therapy services is related to the ability of patients to
pay, either out-of-pocket or through health insurance, and although more
insurance plans now cover nutritional therapy services, the extent of
such coverage varies among plans. Growth may be curbed by limitations on
insurance reimbursement for dietetic services.
Hospitals will
continue to employ a large number of dietitians and nutritionists to
provide medical nutritional therapy and plan meals. But hospitals also
will continue to contract with outside agencies for food service and
move medical nutritional therapy to outpatient care facilities, slowing
job growth in hospitals relative to food service, outpatient facilities,
and other employers.
Finally, the number of dietitian positions in nursing care facilities is
expected to decline, as these establishments continue to contract with
outside agencies for food services. However, employment is expected to
grow rapidly in contract providers of food services, in outpatient care
centers, and in offices of physicians and other health practitioners.
 In
addition to employment growth, job openings will result from the need to
replace experienced workers who retire or leave the occupation for other
reasons. Applicants with specialized training, an advanced degree, or
certifications beyond the particular State's minimum requirement should
enjoy the best job opportunities. Demand for dietitians should be
particularly strong in outpatient care facilities, offices of
physicians, and food service management. Applicants without a bachelor's
degree will face keen competition for jobs.
Dietitians with
specialized training, an advanced degree, or certifications beyond the
particular State's minimum requirement will experience the best job
opportunities. Those specializing in renal and diabetic nutrition or
gerontological nutrition will benefit from the growing number of
diabetics and the aging of the population.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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