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

What is a dietary manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

A dietary manager oversees food service operations in various settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. They work with a team of food service workers to ensure that meals are nutritionally balanced, tasty, and served in a safe and hygienic manner. A dietary manager plans menus, orders and manages inventory, supervises staff, and ensures that all food service operations comply with relevant regulations and standards. They also collaborate with healthcare professionals to create specialized diets for patients with medical conditions.

ScoreDietary ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,856

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 7.70%

Black or African American 11.25%

Hispanic or Latino 13.92%

Unknown 5.44%

White 60.99%

Gender

female 68.04%

male 31.96%

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

What are the pros and cons of being a dietary manager?

Pros

Opportunity to improve people's health and well-being
Ability to work with a diverse group of people
Flexible work schedule options
Opportunity to lead a team and develop management skills
Satisfaction in contributing to the overall success of an organization

Cons

Long hours (including evenings, weekends, and holidays)
Limited control over budget and resources
Dealing with difficult or upset patients/residents or their family members
Need to keep up with changing regulations and guidelines
Demanding workload with multiple tasks and deadlines to manage

Key steps to become a dietary manager

Explore dietary manager education requirements

Most common dietary manager degrees

Bachelor's

29.9 %

Associate

29.7 %

High School Diploma

19.5 %

Start to develop specific dietary manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Kitchen Equipment	11.13%
Patients	8.83%
Dietary Services	5.65%
Infection Control	5.20%
Food Preparation	5.09%

Complete relevant dietary manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New 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 dietary manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real dietary manager resumes.

Gain additional dietary manager certifications

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 dietary manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for dietary managers include Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) and ServSafe Alcohol.

More About Certifications

Research dietary manager duties and responsibilities

Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Review records and assess the nutritional condition of at risk residents, including unplan weight changes, charting and MDS reporting.
Analyze diet requirement of patients and prepare nutritional balance menus accordingly.
Refer patients to appropriate outpatient settings for additional diet education and support.

Prepare your dietary manager resume

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

Build a professional 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 dietary manager resume.