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Planning Your Next Career Move
Celebrating an Eclectic and Opportunity-Rich Profession
By Heather Davis, MS, RDN, LDN
One of the best parts about pursuing a career in dietetics is discovering just how diverse the job opportunities really are. And they’re often what we make them.
Dina Aronson, MS, RDN, says, “One thing that has surprised me about being a dietitian is the sheer breadth of career opportunities available in the field. Initially, I imagined a more traditional path, but early on I began to overcome what I had perceived as limits to a dietitian role. I’ve discovered that as a nutrition expert, we can shape our career in countless ways—retail, industry, entrepreneurship, tech and innovation, and more. And our own journey is within our control. For example, I never anticipated working in the food-as-medicine space, but following my interests, networking with people inside and outside of the field of dietetics, and saying yes to new opportunities have led me to a fulfilling and unexpected career path. Dietetics is a dynamic field where your passion can truly guide your direction.”
“It surprised me that there were so few nutrition communications career opportunities when I was a young dietitian. Now, that has totally changed. Dietitians are also creating their own jobs. Working in the media has become an expansive area of specialty for dietitians, and I’m thrilled to see it,” says Janet Helm, MS, RDN.
Alexandria Hardy, RDN, LDN, agrees with Aronson and Helm, saying, “I didn’t know how many opportunities existed for nontraditional jobs. During my internship, we were primarily exposed to the clinical and food service career tracks, and I remember feeling nervous that even though I loved learning about nutrition and teaching, I would never find my niche. Fast forward 15 years, and I’ve had the privilege to work in clinical research, private practice, worksite wellness, outpatient, and the nonprofit world in addition to building my freelance writing portfolio.”
Mindy Hermann, MBA, RDN, says this characteristic occupational variety in dietetics was a pleasant discovery for her as well. For those who may be looking for a less traditional job in dietetics, she offers some advice: “It's essential to keep eyes wide open and network meaningfully with people who can help shine a light on new opportunities.”
Luckily, recognizing those new opportunities often requires a set of skills and traits dietitians already naturally possess.
Reigniting the Spark
Jill Weisenberger, MS, RDN, CDCES, CHWC, FAND, talks about what drew her to a career in dietetics and what’s kept her in it. “I’m a second career dietitian,” she says, “After just a few years in marketing, I went back to school to get my MS and become a dietitian. My interest was a bit self-centered. I wanted to learn about taking better care of myself. The most surprising thing is how many times I feel that I’ve changed careers, all within the field of nutrition and dietetics. I’ve been a clinical dietitian, private practice dietitian, research dietitian, author, freelance writer, communications consultant, brand spokesperson, digital course developer, teacher—the list goes on. It’s an awesome profession with so much opportunity.”
Years ago, my dietetic internship director confessed to us that when on vacation, she would often lie about being a “secretary” to those who asked what she did for work so that she could avoid being inundated with people’s well-meaning but nonetheless at times overwhelming and relentless nutrition inquiries upon learning of her real profession. However, there’s an essential truth here that dietitians must harness in growing their careers: everyone needs an RD, even if just to weigh in on the many misrepresentations of nutrition science in pop media. Filling this need is something most RDs naturally do every day, but they don’t always find a way to get paid for it like they should.
Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND, points out the way RDs are needed more than ever in today’s modern information climate. “I had no idea the avenues available or that would become available in the field of nutrition,” she says, “There was no blogging or social media when I began educating as an RD—and with how quickly misinformation spreads, there is a huge need for RDs to disseminate nutrition information in an easily digestible, culturally appropriate, and ethical manner.”
Liz Weiss, MS, RDN, shares Amidor’s feelings. She says, "I became a dietitian in the early 1980s, long before the internet existed, and the changes since then have been extraordinary—particularly with the rise of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Today, anyone can position themselves as a 'nutrition expert,' and those seeking advice from these so-called influencers may fall victim to misinformation and disinformation. The speed at which inaccurate or misleading information spreads is something that has truly surprised me and underscores the importance of credible, science-based guidance from credentialed nutrition professionals.”
Many of us were inspired to enter the profession from that initial spark of recognition that food connects everyone, no matter who you are or what you do. With a life-long passion for animals, I was on track in the late ’90s and early 2000s to become a veterinarian. While completing my bachelor’s studies on a prevet path, I worked as a vet tech in various animal hospitals where I first witnessed the profound impact of nutrition on health outcomes. One day on the job, I met a rottweiler with diabetes. Speaking with the family who had brought him in, I learned it wasn’t just the dog who had diabetes. Both adult human parents and their two teen children all had type 2 diabetes. It was heartbreaking all around.
Though it wasn’t always as starkly evident as in the case of the diabetic rottweiler, there was no denying the role of human beliefs and behavior in impacting the surrounding environment, including the health of their animal companions.
At the same time I was collecting these observations in vet clinics, I was facing my own personal battle with chronic illness. For years and throughout many consultations with top medical experts across the country, at no point did anyone suggest I see a dietitian or so much as ask about my diet, and yet, my case indicated dietary intervention would be fundamentally critical. It was only after devastating advances in my disease state that left me bedridden and near death that I finally tracked down a dietitian on my own and had my first nutrition consultation with an RD who changed—and arguably, helped save—my life, and who, unsurprisingly, influenced my future career choice in nutrition.
Personal stories of transformation are shared by many of us in our recounting of what led us to become dietitians. Hardy remembers, “The road that led to my becoming a dietitian was influenced by many factors,” she says, “Including my experience growing up with body dysmorphia and disordered eating. As a teenager, I was a multisport student athlete and didn’t have a clear idea of the role that nutrition played in my performance. I also grew up comparing my appearance to others and would restrict intake of necessary nutrients in effort to alter my body composition. I remember one night after a grueling two-hour track practice I ate a small baked potato with salsa for dinner and was so proud of my ‘healthful choice’!”
Motivated to make a positive change in the suffering she experienced close to home, Alyssa Salz, MS, RD, LDN, tells a story about how she was pulled to become a dietitian, “After seeing family members struggle with making positive diet changes and developing a healthy relationship with their bodies, I had a strong desire to learn as much as I could to help people feel empowered and motivated to make changes that work for them and help them feel good.”
Some of us can recall a point before we became RDs ourselves when we encountered other RDs out in the world who drew us in. Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN, says that while she was growing up, “There was an RD at our church who held nutrition/cooking classes, and I thought she was the coolest person I’d ever met. I knew that was going to be my calling.” The light bulb turns on and it just fits.
Michelle Dudash, RDN, felt this way when she finally took her first nutrition class in college. “When I was choosing my freshman year fall classes at the University of Wisconsin, I wasn’t sure what to take as a science elective. My grandmother said, ‘Why don’t you take a nutrition class? That’s all you talk about!’ I took Nutritional Sciences 132 (Nutrition Today) in a huge lecture room. It was love at first sight. I immediately met with the dietetics program advisor, switched from Actuarial Science to Dietetics, and the rest is history.”
Recalling our own journeys of discovery helps us reconnect with the creative energy needed to envision our next career move. In what ways can we make quality nutrition education and care more available through our own unique set of skills, interests, and experiences?
Knowing Your Worth and Taking Action
Wendy Phillips, MS, RD, LD, FAND, FASPEN, speaks to the importance of letting go of preconceived notions. “Early in my career I thought I wouldn’t want to be in executive leadership because I wouldn’t find fulfillment unless I was working at the bedside with patients,” she says. “However, I have found that I can make a difference on a bigger scale by advancing my career in management and leadership positions so I can effect large change through public policy and population health initiatives, and mentor others to do the same in their communities.”
As often as we educate our patients and clients about the importance of nutrition, we may be called to educate other medical professionals and community or institutional colleagues about the value of an RD in their existing programs and structures. Many successful dietitians know that they are needed in a variety of settings, and they find ways to insert themselves into those places by taking the initiative to offer innovative proposals and seek out collaboration.
Palmer also adds, “Dietitians work in so many spaces, including food science, food industry, labeling, corporations, restaurants, magazines, product development, TV, and wellness centers. Some dietitians have started their own food product lines. Others have written popular books. And many appear prominently in the media. Food and nutrition are such big topics, so there is room to etch out a career that you dream of.”
If you’re feeling ready for a change, here are some questions you can ask yourself and tips to consider:
1. Take stock of your current frustrations with the state of the food industry, nutrition care, education, or information. What do you want to see change? What skills and experience do you have that you could contribute to support this effort?
2. What current organizations, brands, collectives, or other groups or individuals are you inspired by? What makes them good at what they do?
3. Who else is doing the work you’re considering stepping into? Find them, connect with them, learn from them.
4. What skills or experience do you feel you might lack that could be holding you back? You can explore ways to boost your own skillset, or you could instead find others who possess complementary skills, helping you fill in the gaps and explore ways to collaborate.
5. Instead of taking on an entirely new job in an entirely new setting, consider ways in which you might be needed in new and different ways in your current place of employment. Is it possible for you to propose a change in job title or responsibilities to better fill the need you see?
Let the New Year inspire you to step into the next phase of your career with an open mind, curious spirit, and that classic dietitian drive to get to work!
— Heather Davis, MS, RDN, LDN, is editor of Today’s Dietitian.