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The differences between clinical dietitians and public health dietitians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a clinical dietitian and a public health dietitian. Additionally, a public health dietitian has an average salary of $60,855, which is higher than the $59,133 average annual salary of a clinical dietitian.
The top three skills for a clinical dietitian include patients, patient care and medical nutrition therapy. The most important skills for a public health dietitian are public health, patients, and wic program.
| Clinical Dietitian | Public Health Dietitian | |
| Yearly salary | $59,133 | $60,855 |
| Hourly rate | $28.43 | $29.26 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 57,500 | 66,512 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A clinical dietitian is responsible for providing quality nutritional care for patients by monitoring their current health conditions, advising nutritional and dietary supplements to maintain their healthy lifestyle, and speed up their recovery process. Clinical dietitians often coordinate with other medical professionals to assess food choices and develop nutrition programs for the patients. A clinical dietitian must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry to offer the best services to the patients and accurately handle their inquiries and concerns.
Public health dieticians can expect an annual pay of around $65K but require a four-year bachelor's degree and studies in nutrition, physiology, biology, and other related science courses for this career, as well as a skill set that includes organizational, analytical, speaking and people skills. They help coordinate with food suppliers and faculty administrators for the provision of menus that will meet individually-based dietary needs.
Clinical dietitians and public health dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Dietitian | Public Health Dietitian | |
| Average salary | $59,133 | $60,855 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $80,000 | Between $31,000 And $116,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | University of California | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a clinical dietitian and a public health dietitian in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Dietitian | Public Health Dietitian | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Dietetics | Dietetics |
| Most common college | University of Maryland - College Park | University of Maryland - College Park |
Here are the differences between clinical dietitians' and public health dietitians' demographics:
| Clinical Dietitian | Public Health Dietitian | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.7% Female, 91.3% | Male, 5.1% Female, 94.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 10.0% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 9.2% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |