What is a dietetic technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

Dietetic technicians encourage patients and clients to lead healthy lifestyles by promoting healthy eating during counseling sessions. They advise clients and their families on what to eat per time and how to make the most of their diets. They earn an average sum of $31,000 per annum or $15 per hour.

Dietetic technicians work under the supervision of nutritionists/dietitians, and they help plan and prepare meals that are nutritionally rich and enjoyable. They work in various industries and perform roles suited to their specific places of work. Recording the nutritional condition of patients and preserving those records are essential to a dietetic technician's job.

Dietetic technicians typically have associate's or bachelor's degree and have been awarded the Dietetic Technician Registered (DTR) certificate through a national examination held by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). However, some states require dietetic technicians to have a certified license and experience in a related field.

ScoreDietetic TechnicianUS Average
Salary
2.5

Avg. Salary $32,386

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity
9.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.58%

Asian 5.85%

Black or African American 14.47%

Hispanic or Latino 12.28%

Unknown 4.68%

White 62.13%

Gender

female 87.82%

male 12.18%

Age - 40
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40
Stress Level
6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
6.5

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

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Dietetic Technician career paths

Key steps to become a dietetic technician

  1. Explore dietetic technician education requirements

    Most common dietetic technician degrees

    Bachelor's

    61.9 %

    Associate

    27.1 %

    Master's

    7.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific dietetic technician skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Patients29.68%
    Nutritional Risk6.57%
    Tray Line6.16%
    Food Preferences5.84%
    Patient Care5.73%
  3. Complete relevant dietetic technician training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New dietetic technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a dietetic technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real dietetic technician resumes.
  4. Gain additional dietetic technician certifications

    Dietetic technician certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific dietetic technician certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

    The most common certifications for dietetic technicians include Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR) and Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS).

    More About Certifications
  5. Research dietetic technician duties and responsibilities

    • Facilitate nutrition education training to patients and families on appropriate meal selections within dietary restrictions to accomplish patient goals.
    • Maintain current information in medical records and WIC HSIS software.
    • Provide diet or condition specific diet educations and addressed food allergies.
    • Maintain special food inventory for kitchen to accommodate for vary diets and any allergies.
  6. Prepare your dietetic technician resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your dietetic technician resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a dietetic technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Dietetic Technician Resume templates

    Build a professional Dietetic Technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Dietetic Technician resume.
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  7. Apply for dietetic technician jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a dietetic technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Dietetic Technician Job

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Average dietetic technician salary

The average Dietetic Technician salary in the United States is $32,386 per year or $16 per hour. Dietetic technician salaries range between $25,000 and $41,000 per year.

Average Dietetic Technician Salary
$32,386 Yearly
$15.57 hourly

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Dietetic Technician reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2023
Pros

Hands on, direct patient care. Rewarding.

Cons

Underappreciated. Not many positions available.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Cons

No respect- took tons of gen, orgo, bio, food, and polymer chem, all bio series, anatomy/physio, genetics, nut genomics, molecular bio, microbio, bacteriology, clinical nutrition, maternal nut, community nut, food service management and more (treated like I know nothing, and ostracized by the nurses, the charge nurse, nurse attendants, and MDs. Its like they think I learned only how to carry a meal tray and know how to temp check, the unit fridge and trays.Treated like a food service worker or a volunteer who is always asked to do errand). Low wage-$15-$22/hr( I worked all through college. Starting at a wage of $2.50/hr, all the way to $34.00/hr. After graduating with a degree in Clinical Nutrition and a minor in Genetics. For all of that practical knowledge to be paid nothing is not worth it!!! Also in the interview for getting the job-showing that you've worked for 5+ years is not a good idea... bc the hr at the hospitals I've worked at were really concerned with how much leadership experience I had and felt that I wouldn't be happy starting at $11/hr. (Getting a BS still means getting minimum wage for nutrition). I wasn't happy, but I stuck it out until I got to $19/hr. no benefits-Its very rare to get 1.0 FTE/FT at a hospital. I started PT which at a hospital is 24hrs a wk, and they would always have me work 'extra hours' which equaled full time and was more than 32hrs which was considered FT at the hospitals I worked for, but they were unwilling to give me benefits- which was very sucky though I did get time and a half, but I really wanted benefits. There is a pattern in the nutrition field, where there are a lot of pt and per diem jobs, but not so many ft jobs unless you want to work at a correction facility.(Correction pays well, but has a ton of competition. bilingual (mostly Spanish)- you see in job posters that they want you to be bilingual in Spanish- and for all the people who know Spanish on a conversational level- that's not gonna cut it. A lot of good jobs (good benefits, good pay, good work life balance) require one to be bilingual in Spanish-if its not your native tongue and you don't have the language gene, you should probably start learning it by age 2yrs. I was lucky in that I knew 2 other languages besides American English and bargained/persuaded my way into the clinical DTR jobs. But I've been to WIC where they say language is not a problem, yada yada yada and then they only take people who are native speakers. So knowing the 'corre


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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