We have several articles on how location impacts your dietitian salary and what areas of practice have the highest paying salaries. This article focuses on how you can get those high paying dietitian jobs, whether you work for yourself or for a company.

According to the annual 2019 Compensation and Benefits Survey by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the hourly average wage of a dietitian in the United States is $32.97 per hour. Granted, this is a national average. Each city, county, and state vary depending on the cost of living and minimum wage in that area.

This national hourly average doesn’t seem like a lot of money when considering the time, energy, and money spent to become a dietitian in regards to education, schooling, and internship. The majority of dietitians (40%) work at inpatient acute-care facilities. However, there are other opportunities to make a living, either through a side hustle or as a full-time job. This article discusses The Best Ways to Make Money as a Dietitian and how you can surpass that hourly national average.

Top Money-Making Dietetic Jobs

This list of job opportunities can generate a good income as a dietitian. However, many of these positions require a hustle to get them with continued marketing of one’s services. Some of the jobs are actual salaried positions.

1. Consultant Dietitian: Dietitians who work as brand ambassadors for products or food commodity boards are considered to be consultant dietitians. These dietitians may develop recipes which they’ll promote through various media platforms including social, print, online, and TV. They may represent the products at a tradeshow or event. They may host events, conduct webinars, or provide some form of education to a specified audience. There are many opportunities for a dietitian to become a consultant and the dietitians charge anywhere from $150 - $350 per hour depending on one’s location, social reach/influence, and experience.
2. Technology Dietitian: Dietitians who work for tech companies may have the following responsibilities from developing online educational materials, content creation, nutrition-related program development, product development, and more. Other dietitians provide data-driven informatics or marketing materials. With the power and reach of online platforms, websites, and offerings, a dietitian has a lot of opportunity within the technology industry. Many of these jobs are paid salaries which range from $80K - $110K annually.
3. Private Practice/Coaching/Counseling Dietitian: Dietitians who have a private practice providing coaching/counseling services to clients can work virtually or in an office setting. These dietitians may have their own private practice or work within a private practice/doctor’s office setting. There are many opportunities for dietitians in this area. One can start their own private practice which means marketing one’s own services. Or a dietitian can join another dietitian’s existing, established private practice. In addition, a dietitian can work within a doctor’s office, where the dietitian is provided clients by the doctor and doesn’t necessarily have to do any additional forms of marketing. Depending on one’s location and set-up (i.e. if the dietitian is the sole owner or if they are working for someone else), hourly wage can range anywhere from $50 - $250 per hour. *Eating Disorder Dietitians have been quoted to average $81,900 to $210,900 annually with dietitians who have an advanced degree making upwards of $256,300 annually, according to the Salary and Compensation Report 2019 by AND.

How to Get the Top Money-Making Dietetic Jobs

As a dietitian, you can work for yourself or you can work for a company (or both!).

3 tips to get the highest paid jobs working for YOURSELF

1. Network. The most important tip is to Network. Network. Network. Set aside at least 8 hours weekly for a networking implementation plan. Seems like a lot of time spent on networking? One full-day of work? Yes – it is a lot of time. And it is necessary. Think of networking as marketing, but the fun side of marketing!
2. Develop a networking plan. Have a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual plan containing specific outreach goals and action items to achieve them. The weekly plan will include up to 8 hours of actionable networking tasks to do. Potential action items could be to meet with one new networking person each week and enjoy a coffee, lunch, or virtual chat.
3. Foster your network. Reach out to existing people in your network to maintain relationships. In this reach, ask what you can do for them. How has their business been? Do they have any new offerings or has anything changed within their business? Ask them how you can promote their new offerings. Afterwards, let them know your latest offerings/services.
4. Grow your network. Grow your network by staying connected. Contact doctor’s offices if you do private counseling to establish referrals. If you’re a consultant with food brands, send updates to the PR firms on ways you can promote their specific products via your network or any new technologies/packages you can provide to market the products they are representing.
5. Expand your network. Contact organizations, corporations, nonprofits, sports groups, etc, to offer educational opportunities such as webinars, lunch and learns, or presentations to provide to their employees or members. These offerings can be paid or free. Some people do them for free in hopes to get clients from the presentations. Other dietitians charge for these offerings (which can be another form of income and marketing/networking).
6. Return to the networking plan weekly. Implement the networking plan on a weekly basis. Having a plan is great. Implementation is ideally just as important as development. Make sure to be realistic with your time management so the action items are implemented correctly. Also include follow-up. Sending an email to someone once might not always be the most effective. Follow-up should be included in the implementation plan.
7. Be consistent with habits. It can take anywhere from six to twelve months to start to build a strong network. Some practitioners have spent two years establishing themselves in their practice and they continue to network weekly to maintain and grow their reach. It’s an ongoing process. Do not give up and get discouraged. Consistency with one’s networking will prove to be beneficial in the end. I personally know dietitians who have been doing private practice for over 20 years and they continue to market themselves on a weekly basis building their network, meeting new people, and maintaining existing relationships. It’s a continual hustle to stay present and remind people you are there, able, and ready for work. That is the reason why working for one’s self isn’t always for everyone due to the ongoing hustle. Even NutritionJobs Founder, Stacey Dunn-Emke, continues to network and market her services and offerings on a weekly basis. Stay consistent.

10 tips to get the highest paid jobs working for a COMPANY

Finding these high-paying positions is the first challenge. Here are some action steps to take to find the offered position within a company of choice.

How to FIND high paying jobs at a company

1. Research. Research companies you are interested in working for.
2. Top Picks. Pick your top 5 companies you find attractive.
3. Browse company website. Look at the career opportunities available on their website.
4. Company notifications. Sign up for notifications when new positions open up.
5. Company connections. Start to connect with people who work for that company via social media, such as LinkedIn. Develop real connections with the existing employees within the company. Find out what they like about their jobs and why. Inform the employees of your interest in working at the company and if anything opens up, to let you know.
6. Expand company connections. If using LinkedIn, find people you may already know who work at that company. Or find people who you know who may know someone that works at that company to connect you.
7. Informational interviews. Reach out to company connections to set up brief informational interviews. Learn what they like about their job, what have they learned since starting in their current role, what would they have done to better prepare for the current job. Be brief and respectful of their time. If there isn't a perfect-fit job for you right now, stay connected. you never know when something might open up in the future.
8. Broadcast. Continue to network with people and tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job within this area/industry/company/niche. The more people who know you are looking for a job, the more eyes and ears you have working in your favor to send you tips and updates on available positions.

How to GET high paying jobs at a company

Getting the job is the second challenge. Here are three action steps to take to get the position.

1. Align your application. Customize your resume and cover letter for the position. Make sure your resume aligns with the job description requirements and mission of the position. Check out our Get the Interview with Dietetic Resume Essentials course for a step-by-step resume guide and job interview tips eBook bundle.
2. Reach out to network of connections. Use your network within the company/organization you are applying to provide you with a referral or connection to the hiring manager.
3. Persist appropriately. Follow-up after submitting the resume to go to the next step of the interview.

Resources

For more resources, check out our templates, articles, and offerings:

6 ways to create a searchable resume profile

Dietetic Resume, Cover Letter, and List of References Template Downloads

eCourse: Create an All-Star LinkedIn Profile

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About the Author

Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN, is a Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist specializing in Weight Management and Sports Nutrition for youth and adults. She writes articles for multiple publications, provides customized nutrition coaching, and is a brand spokesperson. She is founder of MIJA, a superfood supplement company, and Haumea Health, a fertility wellness clinic. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.