If you're considering whether to work with a dietitian vs a nutritionist to reach your nutrition goals, you may be wondering about the similarities and differences between the two.

Both enact the power of nutrition to improve the health and quality of life of their patients or clients. The differences lie in the experts' education, licenses and specialty levels. Depending on your specific nutrition or weight loss goals, you might benefit from working with one nutrition expert or both health providers. Let’s take a look at each one in more detail.

What is a registered dietitian?

A registered dietitian (RD), sometimes referred to as a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) is a certified food and nutrition expert. They focus on the science of food and nutrition and how this plays a role in human health. An RD is trained in offering tailored counseling to individuals on food, diet and proper nutrition needs according to an individual’s health conditions and goals.

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Here are some places a registered dietitian can be found in:^[1]

●       Hospitals

●       Outpatient clinics

●       Research institutions

●       Local community centers

●       Private organizations

However, you are seeing more and more dietitians in the public and media settings to try and promote preventative care.

Education and licensing requirements

Compared to nutritionists, the title of a dietitian and its corresponding practice is more heavily regulated by state and federal governance, and typically requires more certifications.

A registered dietitian nutritionist must pursue and obtain a federal license in order to claim their title and provide care to patients. To do this, candidates must complete a bachelor’s degree at an accredited university, followed by logging at least 1,200 hours in an accredited Dietetic Internship.

After that, candidates must pass a national exam administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration, which as of January 2024, candidates must hold a master’s degree to qualify for.

Once they pass and obtain their license, RDs are required to complete 75 hours of continuing education credits to maintain their title.

Registered Dietitians must be certified by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. RDs are equipped to offer advice on food and nutrition, but also have more knowledge of specific medical conditions.

If that’s not impressive enough, Dietitians can also further their education with additional specialties in areas such as: ^[2]

●       Diabetes

●       Oncology

●       Sports dietetics

●       Pediatric dietetics

●       Renal nutrition 

Job opportunities

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, both nutritionist and dietitian roles are expected to grow 7 percent from 2021 to 2031 (an average rate), and there are about 5,600 openings per year.^[3]

Dietitians can hold roles in clinical settings, food service management, community institutions, research fields, eating disorders, sports nutrition, private practice and so much more. Here are a few job opportunities for RDs:

Clinical dietitians work in inpatient or outpatient hospital settings. These dietitians will provide support to the other members of their medical team to help treat both acute and chronic illnesses.^[4]

Clinical dietitians will follow medical standards of practice to assess a patients’ needs, consulting their medical history to do so. The types of patients they’ll work with include people just out of surgery, in cancer treatment, or with other chronic illnesses like diabetes or kidney disease.^[5]

Food service management dietitians oversee the production of the nutritional elements in food. They ensure that mass-produced food meets the safety guidelines within a large organization, like a military base, school district or other large institution.

Community dietitians design and implement programs for populations instead of individuals.^[6]

Research dietitians will usually work in research hospitals, organizations or universities. They’ll work on a team with other medical professionals and aid in carrying out nutritionally focused interventions.^[7]

Salary Expectations

Registered dietitians are noted as earning about $66,000 a year, which is around $32 an hour.^[8]

On the higher end of the spectrum, registered dietitians can make around $73,590 per year.^[9] Salaries for registered dietitians will depend on location, experience, number of years in the field and training.

RD Summary

RDs take a patient's medical history and provide nutritional recommendations to help manage chronic diseases, allergies, insensitivities and other conditions.^[10] So if you’re looking for health solutions related to food and live with a more severe health condition, you may prefer to partner with a dietitian.

What is a nutritionist?

Before we dive in, it is important to know that the term “nutritionist” can cover many scopes from being highly trained and regulated to not at all.

In some states to obtain the titles of nutritionists like a Certified Nutrition specialist, Certified Clinical Nutritionists or a Clinical Nutritionists you must meet certain qualifications as these

nutritionists are professionally trained to give food-related and nutrition advice to people to reach the desired health goal, such as losing weight, increasing nutrient density or gaining more energy.^[11]

In other states there is no regulation for use and any person with an interest in diet or nutrition can use the title. While these individuals may not lack education and knowledge on the subject, they are not able to give individual or personalized advice on nutrition counseling or create meal plans.

Before working with a nutritionist, it may be best to check your state regulations and the background of the person you are interested in working with.

For the remainder of this section, we will be discussing nutritionists with certifications or licenses like a Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Clinical Nutritionist or Clinical Nutritionist.

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Clinical nutritionists can be found across a broad spectrum of health facilities, including:

●       Hospitals

●       Schools

●       Healthcare clinics

●       Nursing homes

●       Athletic associations

Clinical nutritionists can vary in specialty and expertise level depending on their certification. Most certified nutritionists can oversee nutritional educational programs and create a meal plan for weight loss or nutritional needs of individuals or groups.^[12]

There are also Certified Clinical Nutritionists (CCNs) that assess nutritional needs based on their patient's lifestyles and health. They can then provide personalized recommendations for diet, exercise, supplements, and more.^[13]

Education and licensing requirements

The role of a nutritionist in the United States varies by state. However, to become a certified nutritionist, candidates must complete an advanced degree in the field of nutrition or a related field that meets the requirements.^[14]

Then, candidates must log 1,000 hours of supervised practice in nutrition and then pass a nutritionist certification board test, after which they can officially gain the title of certified nutrition specialist.^[15]

Job opportunities

While non-licensed nutritionists are limited in their job opportunities, certified nutritionists can work in a variety of healthcare facilities, such as:^[16]

●       Hospitals

●       Nursing homes

●       Rehabilitation centers

They can also hold research positions at colleges, universities, and other private research centers to help set policies for a nutrition program, oversee product development, and provide quality control for private food companies and corporations.^[17]

All in all, nutritionists can hold a lot of the positions that a dietitian can, but their ability to provide medical advice may be more limited.

Salary Expectations

The average salary for a Clinical Nutritionist in the United States is $58,319 per year, which breaks down to about $28 an hour.^[18]

On the higher end of the salary spectrum, Clinical Nutritionists can make $79,000. On the lower end, they can make about $33,500. However, the majority is making between $44,000 and $69,500.^[19]

Thrive in nutrition and life with Jenny Craig

When choosing between a dietitian vs nutritionist, both nutrition professionals are well-trained to offer advice and support to help people achieve their nutritional goals. The primary difference is that dietitians typically receive more education and are more specialized to treat people with existing medical conditions and more acute nutritional goals.

But with Jenny Craig, there’s no need to choose. Our meal plans and food for weight loss are 100% dietitian-approved to take the guesswork out of reaching your nutrition goals. With Jenny Craig, you’ll receive balanced, flavorful meals crafted with quality ingredients that are completely ready to prepare.

We haven’t been thriving for almost 40 years from meal plans alone. There’s an entire community at Jenny Craig ready to support you in your journey. When you join Jenny Craig, you gain access to daily support from our nutritional experts and people just like you working toward their best selves.

Ready to thrive? Try your first week risk-free today.

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This article is based on scientific research and/or other scientific articles and was written by an experienced health and lifestyle contributor and reviewed by certified professionals. 

Our goal at Jenny Craig is to provide the most up-to-date and objective information on health-related topics, so our readers can make informed decisions based on factual content. All articles undergo an extensive review process, and depending on the topic, are reviewed by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) or Nutritionist, to ensure accuracy. 

 

This article contains trusted sources including scientific, peer-reviewed papers. All references are hyperlinked at the end of the article to take readers directly to the source.

 

Sources:

Commission on Dietetic Registration. 2024 GRADUATE DEGREE REQUIREMENT – REGISTRATION ELIGIBILITY. https://www.cdrnet.org/graduatedegree

Healthline. What’s the Difference Between a Dietitian and a Nutritionist? https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dietitian-vs-nutritionist#bottom-line

Medical News Today. What is the difference between nutritionists and dietitians? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nutritionist-vs-dietician

Nutritioned.org. Nutrition Jobs | Careers for Nutritionist and Dietitians. https://www.nutritioned.org/careers/

RD Nutrition Consultants. What is the Difference Between a Dietitian and a Nutritionist? https://www.rdnutritionconsultants.com/single-post/dietitian-vs-nutritionist

Salary.com. Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) Salary in the United States. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/alternate/registered-dietitian-nutritionist-rdn-salary

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dietitians and Nutritionists. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dietitians-and-nutritionists.htm#tab-6

ZipRecruiter. Clinical Nutritionist Salary. https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Clinical-Nutritionist-Salary