What’s Your Best Career Path?

Clinical…Community…Private Practice – What’s Your Best Dietetics Career Path?
By Ryan G Davis, MBA

Whether you are new to the field of dietetics or a seasoned pro, it is always wise to be aware of opportunities that may be your ideal career. Nutritional professionals continue to be in high demand in the clinical, community, and private practice settings; as well as in the roles of Food Service/Certified Dietary Managers, Nursing Home Administrators, and Hospital Executives. The future is indeed bright, but which path is best for you?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average U.S. worker changes careers 3-5 times during their lifetime and will have had 11 jobs before they reach the age of 42. So if you haven’t already had several different jobs in nutrition, chances are that you will.

Thanks to the extensive academic and practical training nutritional professionals go through, you have the luxury and expertise to make a variety of jobs in dietetics viable, though some may be a better fit for you than others. You work in a growth industry that offers diverse ways to work toward the same goal of helping people get and stay healthy through nutrition.

Here are some profiles of personality traits to determine which sort of career in dietetics may best suit you.

1) The Planner … You are perceptive and sensitive to how others are feeling and you enjoy bringing structure and order to your world. Your talent for organization helps you develop structured plans to help people reach their nutrition goals.

If this sounds like you, you may be a great clinical dietitian, community nutritionist, private in-person or tele-health counselor. The skills described above are also the makings for a culinary nutritionist working in an upscale restaurant.

2) The Visionary … You have a knack for taking the complex and making it simple. You enjoy being social, networking, and leading a team. While you are very social, you also need alone time to process information and develop 40,000 foot solutions.

Your ideal work environment may be one that allows you freedom in your daily activities. You may make a great business owner, manager, supermarket/pharmacy dietitian, or independent consultant.

3) The Artist … You love a challenging project that takes advantage of your creativity, you have excellent communication skills, and you are good at whatever interests you or ignites your passion. Some may even describe you as an artist. You’re self-reliant and independent, so although you enjoy working with others, you may prefer to work solo. You probably dislike detail-oriented work or structured work environments.

This project-oriented, independent working means that you have a lot of career options. You may enjoy being a traveling RD, juggling a dozen consulting projects, creating recipes, or perhaps writing a blog.
4) The Entrepreneur … You are your work. You are self-motivated, lead by example, ambitious, and you don’t accept the status quo. Your passion and charisma draw in those around you, and you are often a mentor to others. You wouldn’t do well in the military – you need to do things your way.

Your career options are wide-open, as long as you can run the show. So regardless of what path you take, make sure you’re the boss!

If no single bucket above describes you perfectly, fret not, you may find that you are a composite of qualities described in more than one category. The bottom line from the hundreds of nutrition professionals I work with every year to find their “dream” career, is that they work in an environment in which their professional interests, preferred working environment, and skill sets are all in alignment. So whether you are a Planner, Visionary, Artist, or Entrepreneur, find the path that gets you excited when you wake up in the morning, and your future in dietetics will continue to be bright.