There’s more to working as an RD than doing clinical nutrition. And there’s more to clinical than just working in a hospital. Here are some ways to think about the kind of dietitian you want to be.
Dietitian jobs that are not clinical nutrition
As a new RD, one of the most common question is what are dietitian jobs that are not clinical nutrition?
And the good news is you don’t have to work in clinical as a new dietitian if you don’t want to.
Here we’re going to talk about some traditional and some non-traditional ways you can use your RD certification to carve out a career you love.
Before we jump in, let’s talk a little about working in clinical nutrition.
A year in clinical vs. dietitian jobs that are not clinical nutrition
Let’s start by saying the quiet part out loud: not everyone who wants to be a dietitian wants to work in clinical nutrition.
I didn’t. Maybe you don’t want to either.
But when you’re just starting out, it’s easy to get caught up believing that you need to have at least a year in clinical before you can do anything you want.
And the idea of that year in clinical can cause a lot of anxiety if clinical nutrition isn’t something you want to do.
So here’s a quick answer to that big “do I have to start in clinical for a year” question: It’s not necessary but it’s helpful.
Because so many places you’ll find yourself working as a registered dietitian (especially as a new RD) include at least a minimum understanding of medical nutrition therapy, it’s helpful to have that minimum understanding of MNT.
Does that mean you’ve got to be a clinical pro? No. Does it mean having a bit of clinical background help? Yea, it’ll help. It’ll help with most (not all) things you want to do and with many jobs you’ll want to get.
Clinical nutrition jobs include:
- Hospital acute care
- Long term care
- Outpatient counseling
- Private practice (because all MNT work, even when it’s one on one or private pay can be considered clinical)
So, what can you do as a new RD if none of these sound good to you?
What can you do as a registered dietitian that has nothing to do with clinical, working with patients, and doing medical nutrition therapy?
Great question. Let’s look at some possibilities.
Jobs for dietitians that aren’t clinical nutrition
Let’s look at some more dietitian jobs that are not clinical nutrition.
There are some standard places to find a job and there are some unusual or unexpected places that value a dietitian skill set.
Before diving into this (or any other) list, keep in mind that there’s no limit to the kind of work you can find or create for yourself.
Everything here is just a suggestion, a way to help you start thinking about the possibilities, a few places to start digging a little deeper into something that looks interesting.
Organizations that are not nutrition specific
There are many organizations that don’t emphasize or even do clinical nutrition or medication nutrition therapy but who still look for support from a dietitian.
Some of these organizations include:
Non-profit organizations that emphasize health, food or community programs. Think: Children’s Aid Society or Food Banks.
Government agencies on the city, state and federal levels. Programs might be: Department of Health or Department of Education, NIH (national institutes of health), or even benefits programs for lower income individuals, migrants, LGBTQ people, or any other group you can think of.
Senior centers and older adult day care programs. These can be part of the government or independent programs that run through private insurance companies.
Work in these organizations can include things like research, running the programs for the target audience, or even being a lead administrator for the organization.
What about for-profit organizations?
If non-profit work isn’t your cup of tea, that’s ok.
There are opportunities available right now or waiting to be created at all kinds of places. They can include:
- Private schools
- Churches
- Rehab centers
- Spas
Work in these places can include: health teachers, wellness instruction, working on menu development for a facility, running group nutrition education sessions.
Also consider sales positions.
Companies like Abbott and Nestle regularly hire dietitians as sales reps to promote and manage accounts for hospitals and other health care institutions that activity use their products.
You might even find yourself combining interests and offering a program on meditation and food choices. Or using your skills in mental health or victim support to help those in recovery make healthy choices.
Or maybe you lean on your history of tutoring and start working in a private school as a health teacher.
The possibilities are endless.
Non-traditional roles for dietitians
Social media work and dietitian jobs that aren’t clinical nutrition
If being part of an online community sounds more like your thing, consider the work involved in being paid to do this kind of work.
- Social media nutrition education for clients and consumers
- Brand sponsorship for posting
- Affiliate marketing for an email or social media community you’ve built
Even building a private pay private practice can be included in building an online community when you consider the level of exposure you might want to have to build the income you may be looking for.
In each of these, you can niche down and talk directly to any group of people you’d like.
And by specific, you want to get very specific. Think:
Middle age Pakistani immigrant mothers.
Parents who have kindergarten-age kids with severe food allergies.
Teens who are highly competitive swimmers.
The more specific you can get, the easier it’ll be to have clear conversations with your audience.
And the better you are at identifying the community you want to talk to, the faster you’ll likely be able to grow an online audience.
Non-clinical nutrition jobs in clinical settings
There are also interesting and creative ways to work in clinical environments without actually having to do clinical work.
Here’s a couple of examples of work an RD can do in a long term care facility without being patient facing:
- Managing or auditing the facility’s documentation in preparation for state review
- Creating or reviewing long term care seasonal or rotational menus
- Managing teams of dietitians within a region for a healthcare group or a contract agency
Non-food food company jobs
Just like there are facilities that are chronically understaffed with dietitians, there are places that may have not been able to keep or retain a food service manager. And this can lead a facility to have a lot of gaps in their food service program.
But there are also many food companies looking for the expertise of a dietitian.
You might want to look at options like:
- Research and development for food corporations
- Recipe and menu development for restaurants, start-ups, and other food companies
- Selling recipe for menu prep with specific health focuses like weight management, disordered eating, kidney disease, diabetes, or anything else you can think of
Build something RDs need
Finally, you can always get creative and build an answer to a question you know people have been asking.
There are a lot of RDs who are supporting both other dietitians and people who are not dietitians build better habits, learn new things, or simply get healthier.
So if you want to build something of your own, how do you know what to build?
The answer is usually sitting right in front of you in the form of a question you see asked in a Facebook group, something that was asked on an Instagram post, or maybe a question you constantly hear from your current patients and clients.
This thing you create doesn’t have to be completely new or innovative.
You can always build a company, blog, or program that’s a personal take on something already done. And because it’s done by you, it will be different than what anyone else has done.
Need a little more help?
Think about things you’re already really good at. Even if it’s sort of odd or unusual. Maybe something like:
- You’ve used every EMR on the market. You know how to figure them out, and you know the tricks that make life easier for clinical dietitians. So you build a company that helps RDs starting a private practice set up their EMR for best user experience.
- You’re a busy mom working full time and also a lazy cook. So you create a line of RD-approved grocery lists, recipes, freezer meal tips and tricks that can support women like you.
- You were a competitive swimmer for the last 10 years and had a few snacks you always kept on hand. Maybe you build a blog that talks best snacks, pre-workout, recovery foods for competitive swimmers.
There’s no limit and nothing to stop you from taking something you’re great at, something you’ve had a hard time with, or something you find fascinating and turning it into a support system for others who have the same mindset as you.
Try it. See how it fits on you. Then keep pushing or find something new.
There are no wrong answers.
And That’s It!
Bottom line is there are a lot of ways you can use the people skills, the technical abilities, the community-mindedness, and the love of food you likely have as a dietitian.
Get creative…and then give it a try. Apply for that new job. Start that new blog. Build that new course.
You’ll probably surprise yourself at how much you love it. And you might even surprise yourself at how profitable it can be.
Looking for more like this? Start here: Nutrition Jobs: https://www.nutritionjobs.com/jobs-for-a-dietitian
Want even more to help in clinical?
Check out The Nutrition Cheat Sheets Shop for all the nutrition education and clinical resources that will make your life easier.
