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Therapeutic dietitian vs nutrition specialist

The differences between therapeutic dietitians and nutrition specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a therapeutic dietitian and a nutrition specialist. Additionally, a therapeutic dietitian has an average salary of $60,038, which is higher than the $53,989 average annual salary of a nutrition specialist.

The top three skills for a therapeutic dietitian include nutritional risk, nutritional care and medical nutrition therapy. The most important skills for a nutrition specialist are patients, PET, and nutritional care.

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutrition specialist overview

Therapeutic DietitianNutrition Specialist
Yearly salary$60,038$53,989
Hourly rate$28.86$25.96
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs6,21320,074
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 88%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutrition specialist salary

Therapeutic dietitians and nutrition specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Therapeutic DietitianNutrition Specialist
Average salary$60,038$53,989
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $114,000Between $34,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-Children's Hospital Colorado
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between therapeutic dietitian and nutrition specialist education

There are a few differences between a therapeutic dietitian and a nutrition specialist in terms of educational background:

Therapeutic DietitianNutrition Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 88%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common majorDieteticsDietetics
Most common collegeUniversity of Maryland - College ParkPennsylvania State University

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutrition specialist demographics

Here are the differences between therapeutic dietitians' and nutrition specialists' demographics:

Therapeutic DietitianNutrition Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 3.1% Female, 96.9%Male, 26.5% Female, 73.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between therapeutic dietitian and nutrition specialist duties and responsibilities

Therapeutic dietitian example responsibilities.

  • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
  • Provide individual and group nutrition counseling, including interactive nutrition and culinary sessions to low-income multicultural communities.
  • Provide individualized nutrition consultations for sports nutrition, weight-loss, diabetes, hypertension and hormonal changes.

Nutrition specialist example responsibilities.

  • Provide districts with technical assistance for a state-wide USDA approve nutrient analysis and student eligibility software program.
  • Oversee the food bid process and audit of milk and food receipts in accordance with USDA guidelines.
  • Educate client classes on diabetes, bariatrics, hypertension, malnutrition, and other nutrition relate topics.
  • Provide options for campers with food allergies, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and lactose free diets.
  • Develop variety of menu items catering to patrons with food allergies and diet restrictions such as gluten-free and vegan items.
  • Provide diabetes education to hospital inpatients and outpatients and conduct diabetes group classes.
  • Show more

Therapeutic dietitian vs nutrition specialist skills

Common therapeutic dietitian skills
  • Nutritional Risk, 47%
  • Nutritional Care, 30%
  • Medical Nutrition Therapy, 23%
Common nutrition specialist skills
  • Patients, 28%
  • PET, 11%
  • Nutritional Care, 7%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Nutrition Education, 4%
  • Diabetes, 4%

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