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The differences between nutrition assistants and diet technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a nutrition assistant and a diet technician. Additionally, a diet technician has an average salary of $33,164, which is higher than the $32,229 average annual salary of a nutrition assistant.
The top three skills for a nutrition assistant include patients, kitchen equipment and food service. The most important skills for a diet technician are patients, patient care, and food service.
| Nutrition Assistant | Diet Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $32,229 | $33,164 |
| Hourly rate | $15.49 | $15.94 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 7,731 | 24,858 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Nutrition Assistant makes sure that patients in a healthcare unit are fed according to their dietary needs. They assist in kitchen prep and cooking food.
A Diet Technician identifies patients with nutritional risk using scoring guidelines and initiates referrals for dietetic assessment. They oversee food production or service and assist dietitians or nutritionists in food service supervision and planning.
Nutrition assistants and diet technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nutrition Assistant | Diet Technician | |
| Average salary | $32,229 | $33,164 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $26,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | - |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | - |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | - |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | - |
There are a few differences between a nutrition assistant and a diet technician in terms of educational background:
| Nutrition Assistant | Diet Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Dietetics | Dietetics |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between nutrition assistants' and diet technicians' demographics:
| Nutrition Assistant | Diet Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8% | Male, 13.4% Female, 86.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |