Registered Dietician Overview
Working as a Registered Dietician
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a registered dietician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.61 an hour? That's $49,103 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 8,000 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Registered Dietician Do
There are certain skills that many registered dieticians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, listening skills and problem-solving skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a registered dietician, we found that a lot of resumes listed 38.8% of registered dieticians included rd, while 19.5% of resumes included diabetes, and 17.7% of resumes included heart. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the registered dietician job title. But what industry to start with? Most registered dieticians actually find jobs in the health care and non profits industries.
How To Become a Registered Dietician
If you're interested in becoming a registered dietician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 65.0% of registered dieticians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 20.0% of registered dieticians have master's degrees. Even though most registered dieticians have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a registered dietician. When we researched the most common majors for a registered dietician, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on registered dietician resumes include diploma degrees or doctoral degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a registered dietician. In fact, many registered dietician jobs require experience in a role such as dietetic internship. Meanwhile, many registered dieticians also have previous career experience in roles such as clinical dietician or nutritionist.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Average Salary for a Registered Dietician
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
State of Wyoming Hsrd-00090-Registered Dietician Hsrd-00090-Registered Dietician | State of Wyoming State of Wyoming | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $53,14901/22/2021 $53,149 |
Wisconsin Government Registered Dietician Registered Dietician | Wisconsin Government Wisconsin Government | 12/08/2020 12/08/2020 | $52,17512/08/2020 $52,175 |
Sarasota County Government Careers Registered Dietician-Rd-Cde or Rn-Cde Registered Dietician-Rd-Cde or Rn-Cde | Sarasota County Government Careers Sarasota County Government Careers | 11/04/2020 11/04/2020 | $65,93611/04/2020 $65,936 |
Integral Care Registered Dietician Registered Dietician | Integral Care Integral Care | 12/09/2019 12/09/2019 | $55,60212/09/2019 $55,602 |
Good Samaritan Society Registered Dietician Registered Dietician | Good Samaritan Society Good Samaritan Society | 08/16/2019 08/16/2019 | $43,82708/16/2019 $43,827 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Top Colleges for Registered Dieticians
1. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Public
2. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Public
3. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Public
4. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Public
5. University of Delaware
Newark, DE • Public
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
7. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Public
8. California State University - Chico
Chico, CA • Public
9. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Public
10. Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX • Public
Top Skills For a Registered Dietician
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 38.8% of registered dieticians listed rd on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and listening skills are important as well.
- RD, 38.8%
- Diabetes, 19.5%
- Heart, 17.7%
- Clinical Staff, 5.8%
- State Regulations, 5.5%
- Other Skills, 12.7% See All Registered Dietician Skills
Best States For a Registered Dietician
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a registered dietician. The best states for people in this position are California, Alaska, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Registered dieticians make the most in California with an average salary of $66,703. Whereas in Alaska and North Dakota, they would average $65,724 and $61,617, respectively. While registered dieticians would only make an average of $60,565 in Minnesota, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Nevada
$57,962
Avg. Salary
2. California
$66,704
Avg. Salary
3. Delaware
$60,290
Avg. Salary