Dietetic Technicians

Employers

There are approximately 25,000 dietetic technicians in the United States. They are employed by hospitals, nursing homes, public health nutritional programs, food companies, clinics, youth centers, visiting nurse associations, home health agencies, and other institutional settings that require food-service management and nutritional-care services. Most technicians work in health care facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes, although some are employed in health agencies such as public health departments, neighborhood health centers, or home health agencies. Schools, correctional facilities, food vendors, and health clubs are also examples of institutions that may have a dietetic staff.

Additional employers of dietetic technicians include colleges, industrial food-service establishments, and other organizations where large quantities of food are regularly prepared.

Starting Out

Contacts gained during the clinical experience segment of a training program are often good sources of first jobs for dietetic technicians. Applying to the personnel offices of potential employers can be another productive approach. Other good places to check are school career services offices, job listings in health journals, newspaper classified ads, and private and public employment agencies.

In some areas close to schools that offer dietetic technician training programs, the local labor market is over-supplied. In these cases, graduates may have better results if they extend their job search to areas where competition is less intense.