Interested in nutrition?

If you're interested in pursuing a career in nutrition, your options can seem overwhelming. Should I become a Registered Dietitian or a Dietetic Technician? Will I need a master's degree? A doctorate? What career options will I have? Subscribing to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle can make these options even more confusing. Will my vegetarianism interfere with my ability to get a job? Can I find a job that accommodates my interests in nutrition and vegetarianism?

Through The Vegetarian Resource Group, I was able to discuss these questions with a number of dietitians interested in vegetarianism. The common response was that there are many options for a vegetarian in the field of nutrition, but if one wants to combine these interests, it is important to establish a reliable reputation in a specific field. For the dietitians I talked to, this meant anything from completing a doctorate in education to attending culinary school.

WHERE TO START

If you currently have no background in nutrition, a good place to start is with the ADA (American Dietetic Association). There are two educational programs to become ADA certified. The first is to become a registered dietitian (RD) and includes completion of a bachelor's degree in coursework approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE), a 900-hour supervised internship (or its equivalent, depending on the school), and a passing score on the national examination given by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). The second option is to become a dietetic technician, registered (DTR), and requires an associate's degree, 450 supervised hours of practice experience, and a passing score on the exam administered by the CDR.

If you're weighing these options, take some time to consider how much of a time commitment you're willing to make. According to Nancy Berkoff, RD, EdD, CCE, anyone pursuing an RD "should be dedicated." She described the coursework as "almost pre-med," citing biochemistry and physiology. Nancy completed her bachelor's degree at Rutgers University, but says in retrospect that if given the choice again, she might have pursued a DTR with degrees in other areas. There were no DTR degrees at the time she was in school. Her work experience has left her with the belief that a Dietetic Technician can do about 80% of what a Registered Dietitian can do. However, one difference she noted was that a DTR must always work under an RD, while an RD can work independently and is at the top of the field.

According to the ADA's 1997 Membership Database, however, there is a variance in salaries, with 63% of entry-level Dietetic Technicians employed for five years or less reporting salaries between $20,001 and $30,000, while 61% of equivalent Registered Dietitians reported salaries between $25,000 and $35,000.

Dietetic Technician Karen Seigel chose to become a DTR because she felt she lacked the science background to become an RD, and as she was almost forty when she went back to school for nutrition, she didn't want the four-year-plus-internship commitment of an RD program. However, after completing her associate's degree at Baltimore City Community College and becoming ADA-certified, she became a Certified Lifestyle Counselor through the American Association of Lifestyle Counselors. This program, with 26.75 hours of instruction to be certified in weight management and 13 hours to be certified in stress management (all with final exams), fit her interests without demanding a large time commitment. Note, however, that the Certified Lifestyle Counselor is not a nationally recognized license and is considered alternative medical therapy. After completing the program, Karen contracted with several sports and fitness centers.

Karen, however, sought more freedom and so opened her own private practice, "Healthy Beginnings." She told me excitedly about one aspect of her practice that she created: the supermarket tour. During these, she gives aisle-by-aisle tours of local supermarkets and explains which products she would recommend for the individual client. This approach has allowed Karen to introduce veggie burgers and tofu hot dogs to meat-eating clientele who may have otherwise never tried such products. She also distributes coupons for these products, encouraging continued use. She says most of her clients are very receptive and she finds it to be a gentle and positive way of moving more diets towards a whole grain and vegetable base.

MORE EDUCATION POSSIBILITIES

As in Karen's case, a nutritionist's education can often be enhanced after becoming a certified RD or DTR. Personal tracks may include graduate school or culinary school.

After completing her undergraduate and Master's work in nutrition, Nancy Berkoff found that she was becoming interested in finding ways to make healthy diets taste good. Following this instinct, she did a culinary apprenticeship in Europe and became a certified chef. This provided a background for her to continue working with quantity recipes, and she published Vegan in Volume (VRG, 2000). Wanting to combine her interests in teaching with her culinary expertise, she went back to school one more time and completed a Doctorate in Education and began instructing nutrition and culinary arts in local colleges, universities, and culinary schools. She continues to instruct, write for consumer and industry journals, and consult to the industry.

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, agreed with Nancy that it's important to take one's education to the doctoral level if one wants to teach. She had such wonderful experiences as a guest lecturer on nutrition that she decided to pursue a PhD, but would "only advise others to pursue a doctorate if it is in keeping with their long term goals." Reed has also worked in hospitals and has published extensively. She stresses the importance of developing "expertise in a specific area" if one wants to work in a limited field such as vegetarian nutrition.

MORE CAREER POSSIBILITIES

So how does developing expertise land you the job you want? For Suzanne Havala, MS, RD, her commitment to vegetarianism started with doing volunteer work for The Vegetarian Resource Group and the ADA. She engaged in freelance writing and published in established vegetarian publications. Now recognized as a reliable source for vegetarian information, she has acquired paid book contracts, holds a private practice, and frequently lectures. She is currently an advisor to The Vegetarian Resource Group and has authored the ADA's vegetarian guide, Being Vegetarian.

While you may not be able to find a job that deals as specifically with vegetarianism as Karen, Nancy, Reed, and Suzanne have, there are many possible places where your interest in nutrition and vegetarianism could coincide. Within the freedom of a private practice or as a freelance writer, you can choose whom you want to advise or what you want to write about. Many vegetarian groups are always looking for volunteers to help out, and many vegetarian periodicals take freelance submissions. Other possibilities include working in the cardiac wards of hospitals where the diet regimen is generally low-cholesterol and closer to vegetarian than in other wards. Seventh-day Adventist hospitals encourage a vegetarian diet. As vegetarianism is becoming more common, many schools and colleges are looking for help to add vegetarian cuisine to their menus. Fitness centers and health-conscious restaurants can also be good places to check out, and teaching is often a fulfilling possibility.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Names, addresses, and directors' names of educational programs approved by the CADE are available online at <www.eatright.org/cade>. The ADA also offers scholarships to students enrolled in their junior years of college and those doing internships. You can contact the ADA's Education and Accreditation Team at [phone], ext. 5400, or online at [e-mail]. Information about the American Association of Lifestyle Counselors certification program is online at <www.aalc.org/become.htm>, and they can be reached at PO Box 610410, Dept. 55, Dallas, TX 75261-0410. Nancy's culinary apprenticeship was funded partially through her employment with Stouffer's; you may want to check with your employer to see if they offer compensation towards further studies. A list of culinary schools with brief descriptions can be found at <www.culinaryschools.com>.

Michelle Y. Burke is a student at Towson University. She wrote this piece while interning at The VRG.