Research dietitian vs community dietitian

The differences between research dietitians and community 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 research dietitian and a community dietitian. Additionally, a community dietitian has an average salary of $61,786, which is higher than the $57,712 average annual salary of a research dietitian.

The top three skills for a research dietitian include patients, data collection and principal investigators. The most important skills for a community dietitian are medical nutrition, health education, and heart disease.

Research dietitian vs community dietitian overview

	Research Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Yearly salary	$57,712	$61,786
Hourly rate	$27.75	$29.70
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	50,771	16,585
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

Research dietitian vs community dietitian salary

Research dietitians and community dietitians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Average salary	$57,712	$61,786
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $99,000	Between $30,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between research dietitian and community dietitian education

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

	Research Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Dietetics	Dietetics
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	University of Maryland - College Park

Research dietitian vs community dietitian demographics

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

	Research Dietitian	Community Dietitian
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 5.4% Female, 94.6%	Male, 4.1% Female, 95.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between research dietitian and community dietitian duties and responsibilities

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.

Community dietitian example responsibilities.

Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
Provide nutrition education and diet counseling to WIC participants, groups and individuals.
Provide basic nutrition education to WIC patients and teach nutrition classes in this rural community.
Monitor patients' nutrition status, laboratory values, diet tolerance, and motivate them to adhere to dietary/medications recommendations.
Provide individualized nutrition consultations for sports nutrition, weight-loss, diabetes, hypertension and hormonal changes.

Research dietitian vs community dietitian skills

Common research dietitian skills

Patients, 59%
Data Collection, 10%
Principal Investigators, 5%
Informed Consent, 4%
Study Protocols, 3%
Medical Nutrition Therapy, 3%

Common community dietitian skills

Medical Nutrition, 17%
Health Education, 7%
Heart Disease, 6%
Community Health, 5%
Disease Management, 5%
Eating Disorders, 5%

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Research Dietitian
Research Dietitian vs Community Dietitian

Updated January 8, 2025

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