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Clinical dietitian vs research dietitian

The differences between clinical dietitians and research 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 research dietitian. Additionally, a clinical dietitian has an average salary of $59,133, which is higher than the $57,712 average annual salary of a research dietitian.

The top three skills for a clinical dietitian include patients, patient care and medical nutrition therapy. The most important skills for a research dietitian are patients, data collection, and principal investigators.

Clinical dietitian vs research dietitian overview

Clinical DietitianResearch Dietitian
Yearly salary$59,133$57,712
Hourly rate$28.43$27.75
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs57,50050,771
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Clinical dietitian vs research dietitian salary

Clinical dietitians and research dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Clinical DietitianResearch Dietitian
Average salary$59,133$57,712
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $80,000Between $33,000 And $99,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateCalifornia-
Best paying companyUniversity of California-
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between clinical dietitian and research dietitian education

There are a few differences between a clinical dietitian and a research dietitian in terms of educational background:

Clinical DietitianResearch Dietitian
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorDieteticsDietetics
Most common collegeUniversity of Maryland - College ParkUniversity of Maryland - College Park

Clinical dietitian vs research dietitian demographics

Here are the differences between clinical dietitians' and research dietitians' demographics:

Clinical DietitianResearch Dietitian
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 8.7% Female, 91.3%Male, 5.4% Female, 94.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 9.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 9.7% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between clinical dietitian and research dietitian duties and responsibilities

Clinical dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Provide personalize nutrition counseling to clients managing diabetes, lipid disorders, hypertension & obesity.
  • Collaborate with diabetes educator to achieve AADE accreditation for the diabetes education program and to provide education as an instructor.
  • Develop nutrition assessments and provide individual nutrition interventions for post-surgical/medical patients entering rehabilitation.
  • Provide nutritional care for general medical population; assess nutritional status of ICU patients and implement nutritional intervention.
  • Perform nutrition evaluations and education for rehab patients; complete MDS forms and participate in interdisciplinary team meetings.
  • Sole nutrition department member participating in daily and weekly integrative team rounds for oncology and high risk maternity patients.
  • Show more

Research dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Manage all IRB submissions, sponsor communications, participate in monitoring visits, drug reconciliation and dispensing.
  • Assist with testing and QA of new programs, workflows and software systems.
  • Provide dietary counseling to patients enroll in major pharmaceutical trials and in-house studies.
  • Provide nutrition assessment and calculate individualized nutrition prescriptions to ensure patients' nutritional needs are met.
  • Coordinate a high-risk research site for international study focuse on FDA and CE mark approval of implant insulin delivery technology.
  • Provide individualized nutrition consultations for sports nutrition, weight-loss, diabetes, hypertension and hormonal changes.

Clinical dietitian vs research dietitian skills

Common clinical dietitian skills
  • Patients, 35%
  • Patient Care, 9%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 7%
  • Home Health, 5%
  • Nutrition Services, 3%
  • Diabetes, 3%
Common research dietitian skills
  • Patients, 59%
  • Data Collection, 10%
  • Principal Investigators, 5%
  • Informed Consent, 4%
  • Study Protocols, 3%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 3%

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