Nutritionist
A person who advises others on aspects of food and diet that impact their health. They create menus or eating plans and encourage good eating habits. Their work could be directly with the patient or client or could be engaged with chefs, restaurants, food manufactures or research.
Nutritionist have a choice of work environments, healthcare, research, restaurants or manufacturing.
The field of nutrition is changing regularly as more research is conducted. This job requires constantly keeping up with the changes.
Typically a college degree in food service, nutrition or dietetics is the foundation for this job. Many states require licensing, especially if the job involves designing meals for patients of a hospital or living facility. The Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credential and a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) credential are the most typical specialized programs recognized.
Because food and diets can be a complicated issue with some psychological impacts, nutrition is also an area of expertise some chose to pursue with psychology.
There are several factors driving the faster then average growth of this occupation. Preventive healthcare, aging populations, awareness of food’s impact on long term health and the ever changing knowledge that food sciences are bring to our awareness.