How To Become A Certified Dietary Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a certified dietary manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Would you like to have a hand in making sure individuals have access to nutritional meals? You can do just that if you become a certified dietary manager. Certified dietary managers run the day-to-day operations in large facilities such as corporate dining halls, hotels, hospitals, senior homes and universities.

If you decide to get a job as a dietary manager, you'll get to use your specialized training to manage menus, food purchasing, and food preparation. You'll also be involved in nutrition consulting and inventory control. As a nationally recognized expert in dietary operations, you'll also need nutrition principles to create meal plans and also be responsible for documenting nutrition information and ensuring food safety.

If you would like to pursue this career, you'll need to obtain certification through the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals. To be eligible for certification, you must have graduated from a two or four-year college program in nutrition or food service management or successfully completed an approved food service training course. Depending on the path you select for certification, you may also be required to demonstrate on-the-job experience.

ScoreCertified Dietary ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,721

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 7.75%

Black or African American 10.83%

Hispanic or Latino 13.63%

Unknown 4.91%

White 62.32%

Gender

female 80.00%

male 20.00%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a certified dietary manager

Explore certified dietary manager education requirements

Most common certified dietary manager degrees

Associate

33.9 %

Bachelor's

30.2 %

Certificate

19.0 %

Start to develop specific certified dietary manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	20.28%
Healthcare	19.05%
Quality Standards	18.61%
CMS	14.50%
Food Quality	13.31%

Complete relevant certified dietary manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New certified dietary managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a certified dietary manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real certified dietary manager resumes.

Gain additional certified dietary manager certifications

Certified dietary manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific certified dietary manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for certified dietary managers include Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) and Certified Food Protection Professional (CFPP).

More About Certifications

Research certified dietary manager duties and responsibilities

Handle USDA reimbursement; attend USDA grant meetings along with monthly monitoring at every site, and manage budgets.
Manage point of sale system and train staff on system's functions, also implement and train on a new POS.
Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Serve as an SNF and MDS team member responsible for resident wind, nutritional, and over all care assessment.

Prepare your certified dietary manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your certified dietary manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a certified dietary manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable certified dietary manager resume templates

Build a professional certified dietary manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your certified dietary manager resume.