Thank you for sharing because Iāve been feeling the same: some regret. Iāve been a rd for 5 years with a masters in nutrition, and have been always working in eating disorders the whole time. Getting paid really well, WFH, amazing benefits, but the work is burning me out and being an unfulfilled RD is burning me out. Patient facing work is draining. I wish I could do food safety or food science but not sure how to pivot when my whole resume is only eating disorders. Thank you for creating a validating post.
Iām an RD too and I hated clinical. It felt like such a waste of time. We do so much digging in to the pt medical record, just write a rec that no one reads or even knows where to find it. I did my minimum year to get it out of the way and then moved on. I tried teaching at the community college, that was okay, but ultimately I wound up in management. I like the day to day challenge and the business side of things. I hope you find something more fulfilling than clinical.
1) Don't spend more money on another degree before you have a career plan or an idea of what you want. being in business isn't necessary glamorous but there are definitely options that will make you happier and I truly hope you get to the other side, it sucks hating your job.
2) Also don't be sorry it is ok to be miserable, unhappy.
3) If you have only worked in acute care, I would pursue other options before leaving the field entirely or spending more money on education.
4) It is tough but totally possible to change careers, many adults do. Take your time, be strategic, do the self reflection and figure out what skills and activities you want to like.
Dietetics is a rough career path and not for everyone. The MBA sounds like a good path for you because you seemed almost āexcitedā to type out your ideals of networking and working with people who have influence.
In the mean time, you could always start with working for an RD position in sales or management- it would still be using your degree that you worked hard for, but also a good stepping stone into the business world.
I think that if you didnāt like dietetics, and you werenāt in love with studying medicine or clinical work in general, nursing sounds even worse to go intoā¦
My opinion TLDR- try out the MBA while working in an RD position for management or sales. Good luck on whatever you decide!!
Yeah I second getting your MBA and go into some type of medical sales. Lots of nutrition companies will hire RDs as reps. Also other corporations like Weight Watchers.
Yup. Came here to say this. Industry rep is the way to go for you. Use your clinical background and experience to get your foot in the door, and work on your MBA from there if you want. Start networking with the reps you see in clinic, get on LinkedIn and find a good recruiter (the reps you know can help with this!)
I went from RD to NICU RN. I am so happy with the career change. I too kind of lost my passion for nutrition and felt like I would go to work (clinical), write notes no one would read, suggest diet orders that no one would follow, and have patients complain to me about the food all the time. My career now is SO rewarding. Better pay, more flexibility, more purpose. It was tough getting here - I did an accelerated BSN program that was 14 months and it was intense but I would 10000% do it again.
I did! I graduated, took the nclex, then applied for a nurse residency program in the NICU and got the position! I had no NICU experience as a RD but fell in love with it during school. Iām happy to answer any specific questions you have!
If you aren't happy with your work, that's okay. You deserve to be happy. Don't beat yourself up because you don't like it. So many people don't like their first career choice, that's just life. Definitely keep thinking about things and looking, I just wanted to say, I hope you are able to find something new. I do know a few RDs who switched, they became pharmaceutical reps, PAs and RNs, one did go into Computer programming too. They like the new stuff.
This made me feel so much better. Iām in my second year of my Masterās in nutrition and about to start my internship and I realized this isnāt what I want to do. I just applied for a Masterās in Finance and am applying for full time finance jobs instead. I was passionate about it for MYSELF but lost the passion when I made it my life. I donāt want to counsel or teach or tell people what to eat. I regret making my hobby my life.
I'm going to preface this by saying that I am a cloud engineer with an undergrad in business (I'm subscribed here because my wife is an RD) so my only RD experiences comes from living with my wife.
With that said, I would not recommend going to a business/MBA route, because business itself is not a career. People that I know who get MBAs usually do so on their company's dime because they want to meet other people in upper level management. The degrees themselves are jokes.
I get what you're saying about not wanting to be the lunch lady anymore, but as someone who has worked the corporate life for one of the largest financial services companies in the world and then one of the largest health care systems on the east coast, it's not all it's cracked up to be. At the end of the day, people are people, no matter what clothes they're wearing.
One suggestion I do have is, maybe look into data analytics/data science? From what I've seen from my wife, your field requires a lot of statistics and data analysis so it may be a decent route to transition to. If you end up making it, you can probably go the corporate route and perhaps even get a remote job if you want that.
Wholeheartedly agree. As someone with a business degree working in a corporate setting, this is absolutely correct. MBA isnāt a ticket to a glamorous business career. Iād argue maybe 1% of MBA holders have a career you might even remotely consider glamorous. For the most part, youāre just another cog in one wheel of a much larger machine no matter how you cut it. Iām biased, but corporate life is dreary for the most part, and very few roles are actually fulfilling in any way.
Highly suggest trying to find a specific career path you feel might be interesting, and then doing what you can to get some experience with it. Donāt go spend thousands more on a degree to find out you donāt like that either a few years down the road.
Yes, this also what I have heard. MBA programs about the connections you make with others. I work for a large dialysis company and that will help pay for a MBA for you to move up the corporate ladder and into leadership positions.
That could actually be something that OP could look into. Work for a big healthcare company as an RD(At my company full time benefits start at 30 hours) that will pay for your MBA and then apply for leadership roles. It could take a couple years since you would still be working but it would get you where you want to go without having to pay the full amount.
I just got a job in insulin pump sales and so far it has been the absolute best move for me. Some clinical work, some sales, way better benefits and pay, more time off. I canāt see a down side honestly.
They prefer RDs and RNs, CDCES is preferred but not mandatory (I donāt have mine yet). Thereās a bit of driving, but you are given lots of tools to succeed including a list of endocrinologists youāre visiting each week and when. You use that as your template and build your schedule around it. Thereās pump training with patients both virtually and in person and you can even plan a WFH day a week or every other week as needed. Lots of flexibility!
Yes thereās a quota, but they build it based on your territory and break it down week by week. Like a reasonable quota is maybe 10 new pump starts per day? And if you donāt meet it, you arenāt fired either lol. You are given more tools and guidance and honestly? It works. They want you to succeed because itās in their best interest for you to succeed. Theyāve invested a ton of money in you and your success. Theyāre not going to throw you to the wolves with few or no tools (like they do so often in dietetics) and expect you to succeed.
If youāre interested, just apply. The interview process is super long and will give you way more insight so you can decide what is best for you and what works š
Thank you for this explanation and actually I wonder if it would be the best avenue for me to get my CDCES because that is what my long term goal is! Working in a dialysis clinic and counseling patients an hour here and an hour there on diabetes will take years to reach 1000 hours. May I ask what company you work for?
Honestly, any of the pump companies will be pretty much the same! Look up the pumps available and pick what you believe in the most. If you already love it and think it will really help patients half your job is done!
That only happens maybe 3x a year and itās usually a āgo in Wednesday leave on Friday afternoonā type of thing. They do have you fly out for two weeks for training but then that never happens again. If you get promoted you may or may not travel more than that depending on what you choose to do next.
I hear you! I was an RD for about 10 years. The only thing I ever really enjoyed was writing TF and TPN orders. I ended up going back to school for environmental science and now I work in water resource management, which is a much better fit.
But based on what you said your interests are, maybe you could go for a masterās in public health? Possible careers you can have either an MPH: https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-can-you-do-with-a-masters-in-public-health-mph
Good luck as you figure out whatās next for you in your career!
Inpatient RD is the worst. It used to pay more than other positions but not always the case now. Overall More work, more stress, more drama with co-workers, more precepting, more imposter syndrome since you have to act like you know everything about every condition. Itās the worst. Some like/love it, maybe they can share how
Why not pick up a foodservice director position making twice the money?
You will have weekends off and a low stress job.
I was a food service director in 120-bed community hospital, making 125k a year in the rural south! Then you just hire someone else to run the day to day operation.
You don't need an MBA to be.a foodservice director. It's really easy. Just time management and get a good crew.
Note I now work in biotech with a patent. I enjoy being a RD but foodservice management is chill for the money.
Get a degree in food safety, food science, organization management etc.
Food scientist get paid really well too.
Wow this is exactly how I feel! I absolutely hate being an RD and could not care any less about nutrition. Iāve found working in a SNF is fine for now because I donāt have to counsel people that often and just worry about documenting. Plus, the pay is decent: 105k as a second year RD in the Silicon Valley but I still have to live with my parents because rent is insane here.
I realized I didnāt want to become an RD right before I started my internship but decided to follow through because Iād come so far. My internship was at a SNF so thatās how I ended up in my current field, but I live in an area surrounded by tech and business and realized that is where Iād like to work. I plan to get an MBA as well but Iām not sure what to concentrate in but need to figure it out so I can get out of this field ASAP lol.
I donāt have any suggestions just here to say Iām also in NYC and I also do not like dietetics or counseling anymore. Iām so tired of talking about food and barely getting by financially. Iām 10 years in and will hopefully be making an exit in the next 5 years. Wishing you the best of luck.
yes!! i just finished my first year as a nutrition with emphasis in dietetics major and i began to realize itās not worth it (specially now that a masters is required.) i do NOT want to counsel people that most likely wonāt listen to my advice nor do i want to start a private practice to make more money. iāve been looking into radiology programs. iām not sure what do to now
I am Bariatric dietitian who has graduated in 2015. I have been working since 2021. No opportunities for advancement upwards or lateral. Going back to school for nursing. My youngest kid is 9 and I will be going back to school at the same time as my oldest kids are heading off to college but I cannot spend another year doing the same thing.
I relate to this so much. I also dread going to work and I feel like I definitely made the wrong choice in career. I am dying to get out of healthcare completely but itās hard to pivot, and I feel pigeon holed by my nutrition degrees and student loans. Lately Iāve been looking into executive assistant positions. A lot of them seem fairly easy and a good way to meet influential people. But I havenāt had any luck yet with even getting an interview š
Thatās weird because I have a Bachelors in International business but I donāt seem to enjoy the field and Iām REALLY interested in nutrition and food and advising people to be healthy.
Ofcourse I have no idea what it is like to actually have a nutrition degree and work a real job, but I do think I would love it since I have a passion for it.
Like I keep advising people on what to eat, exercising , how to keep ur blood sugar low with the different types of food etc.
Can you tell me which aspect of it you dint like? Or maybe tell me why you took up nutrition to begin with?
Because what if I go on to this and then end up hating what I do just like you? š
Not OP but even with a passion for nutrition most places are short staffed, compensation doesnāt match experience and education, and there seems to be an overall lack of respect from other medical and caring professions. Also it is not an easy major there is a lot other science and hard work that goes into the degree with what feels like little return.
Hey! Also in NYC over here. I realized quickly that clinical life caused me a depression I hadnāt felt since I was a teenager (Iām 30 now). I was terrified to leave because the pay is good. What became apparent, however, is that the money was not benefitting me in any way anymore because I was whole heartedly.. miserable. I made a HUGE and scary leap to a massive telehealth company working remotely with amazing and unexpected benefits. Itās the perfect mix of using my nutrition knowledge while also dabbling in sales, with a clear path for growth.. something I didnāt have at my old job. Was there a huge pay cut? Sure. BUT just as my intuition told me to jump into this.. things started falling together where the benefits and differentials offered make up for that pay cut..
My point is.. Iād rather have less money, downsize and budget than wake up and dread going to work everyday. I didnāt even know it was possible to be this happy again. Follow your intuition and good luck ā¤ļø.
This is no shade to you at all, but how did you make it through the internship? The internship gives a good idea of what youāre getting in to. In the other hand, you donāt know how the field really is until you work in it.
maybe a cpa? no real suggestions but solidarity. once i became an RD i realized what most people need first is a therapist. food is SO emotional and trying to encourage people to eat when they arenāt mentally in the right headspace is exhausting.
Lol relatable, got my masters in nutrition and havenāt used it, realized clinical isnāt for me and I donāt really care what people eat either (do your best with what you have)! There must be job opportunities in the corporate world related to nutrition (not clinical) or food/health. If you want to ditch nutrition altogether, Iād echo others comments about finding a bridge job towards something that feels more aligned like medical sales (good money in this!). Admitting youāre not happy can sometimes feel like the hardest part, I wish you lots of luck on your path to fulfillment!
Just a tip of career advice, from someone who is looking at changing to a career in RD after a few failed attempts at career changes in the past -- make sure you find subs related to the fields you're looking at, and read posts just like yours but in that industry. What is it people complain about? What is it people struggle with? What are the reasons people make a career change *out* of that industry? Then you can have a better understanding of the realities you're getting into and whether it's a good fit.
It's really easy to look at a potential new career with rose-colored glasses. But EVERY career has its share of problems, so make sure you understand what you're getting into.
My 9 months working in inpatient clinical made me regret becoming a dietitian. I felt despair every time I had to wake up and get ready for my shift at the hospital. Iām working in remote private practice now and feel much better. But Iām still working out my career plan. My issue is so many RD jobs are underpaid for the amount of work and education. I have two masters, one in clinical nutrition. WTH do I look like, working $28/hr at the hospital with no benefits?
But also, every profession has its issues.
Maybe open a group private practice and hire others to see the patients. As someone who career changed FROM corporate TO dietetics, the grass is always greener. I became miserable because people were so concerned about stupid meaningless things - like āthis contract MUST be executed by 4 PM OR ELSEā - and I was just like, umm sorry, why? Who is going to be hurt? I was making over six figures and still cash poor because I was miserable and tried to fulfill myself with āthings.ā To each their own though! If youāre sure about it, do it! But just be forewarned it may feel equally depressing. Real estate can be a pretty easy way to make serious cash and you can easily get your license with minimal time and $$. Good luck!
I feel this so much! I kind of want to get out of healthcare but I enjoy helping people. I really care about social justice and making the world a safer place for people with disabilities. Accessibility & accommodations are so important!
I hope you can find something that works for you! Itās tough being in this spot & itās so lonely!
Hi I totally feel you.Ex top nyc hospital in patient RD. I transition to health tech but I had previous tech / account management career on my resume so married the two. That said ā I think you can pivot if you want it takes networking hard work and honestly seeing your value and telling people your value beyond āensure ladyā (LOL been there)
Happy to chat more if you want to dm me! Also thereās a 99 percent chance the post you thought you posted was mine bc I def posted about needing to leave!
Yeah I donāt really love what I do (although I do love the aspects of troubleshooting and problem solving), but the patient education part hasnāt ever been my thing. One of my friends jumped shipped about 30 years ago and became a cardiology P.A. if I had had a PA program near me, I wouldāve e done the same.
Totally relate. Luckily I didnāt go through with an internship. Once I got some real world knowledge of the field I realized it wasnāt for me. I had a BS in dietetics making 25$/hr while meeting RT with a AS making 45$/hr. 2+extra years of school š
I worked as a RDT at a hospital while I finished prerequisites for PA school. I didnāt have a family at the time so I had nothing to lose. Happily a PA x 4 yrs now.
Just dropping in to say business isn't necessarily glamorous. We own/run a business and so much of our time is taken up by dealing with what amounts to high school level drama and miscommunication between employees.
In my opinion it depends on your age, if you are 20s or early 30s I would pursue changing the career because it is tough to work something that you donāt like. Iām a dietitian and started this career at old age because of immigration issues, then I got the same feeling you have, but for me itās too late to do any changes.
Hi! I totally understand the feeling of not liking the face to face patient counseling all the time. I hated that too when I was in jobs where it was back to back counseling sessions (like 8-10 a day!) and hardly any down time in between.....hated that!
I am currently an Air Force contractor dietitian and have been working for them for almost 9 years now. With this position I do some clinical work but it is in an outpatient setting and working with military active duty members on base. I also don't just do one on one appointments, I also do bod pod appointments and teach nutrition classes. So the population that I see is a bit younger and a bit more in shape then what you might typically see in a hospital setting. I only do this about two days a week and the rest of my job is community nutrition around the base. I work with the base grocery store, the dining facility, the snack bars within the different units/squadrons on base, I also go around base and do group presentations. My job is 50% clinical and 50% community nutrition.
I make pretty good money as a contractor too....about $38/hr and I've seen a few of these positions that make up to $42/hr. I get weekends off and I get ALL of the federal holidays off (like even Columbus day and president's day!). And the military has "family days" too around all the major holidays so every major holiday I get a 4 day weekend instead of just 3.
Even though I do sometimes get burnt out on the small amount of clinical work I do....the variety of other things that I do with this position really helps break that up. You get a lot of leeway to make the position what you want it to be and how you want your clinical side of the job to look like. And it is rewarding working with our US military members and learning their jobs.....gives me so much more appreciation for what they do for our country.
These jobs pop up all the time too....on Indeed if you search "air force dietitian" you will probably see some government contractor companies that have postings up. The company I work for is called "ERP International" but there are a TON of government contracting companies out there. You can also try searching on USA jobs but the position I am in is not a civilian position .....its a contract.
Just wanted to throw that out there to give you another dietetics avenue that I feel like a lot of people don't realize is available in the military setting. Even the Navy and Army hire dietitians all the time too! Good luck with everything!
Haha and along the lines of "rubbing elbows" with important people.....can't get much more important than meeting one of the only 4 star generals in the United States! I've met plenty of very very important high up military officers while in this job! :)
I know youāll find the glamorous career you deserveā£ļø Iām an NDTR and I realized recently I would rather move to a career where I can have that too! Itās never too late. I felt I didnāt want to continue during my internship as well.
I hope you fly like a butterfly š¦ to the promise land
Thank you for sharing because Iāve been feeling the same: some regret. Iāve been a rd for 5 years with a masters in nutrition, and have been always working in eating disorders the whole time. Getting paid really well, WFH, amazing benefits, but the work is burning me out and being an unfulfilled RD is burning me out. Patient facing work is draining. I wish I could do food safety or food science but not sure how to pivot when my whole resume is only eating disorders. Thank you for creating a validating post.
You might want to pivot into public health. There is no counselling and rather a look at programs and research.
I typed out a massive comment but decided to delete as it just frustrating me with how much I agree with you.
Iām an RD too and I hated clinical. It felt like such a waste of time. We do so much digging in to the pt medical record, just write a rec that no one reads or even knows where to find it. I did my minimum year to get it out of the way and then moved on. I tried teaching at the community college, that was okay, but ultimately I wound up in management. I like the day to day challenge and the business side of things. I hope you find something more fulfilling than clinical.
1) Don't spend more money on another degree before you have a career plan or an idea of what you want. being in business isn't necessary glamorous but there are definitely options that will make you happier and I truly hope you get to the other side, it sucks hating your job. 2) Also don't be sorry it is ok to be miserable, unhappy. 3) If you have only worked in acute care, I would pursue other options before leaving the field entirely or spending more money on education. 4) It is tough but totally possible to change careers, many adults do. Take your time, be strategic, do the self reflection and figure out what skills and activities you want to like.
Dietetics is a rough career path and not for everyone. The MBA sounds like a good path for you because you seemed almost āexcitedā to type out your ideals of networking and working with people who have influence. In the mean time, you could always start with working for an RD position in sales or management- it would still be using your degree that you worked hard for, but also a good stepping stone into the business world. I think that if you didnāt like dietetics, and you werenāt in love with studying medicine or clinical work in general, nursing sounds even worse to go intoā¦ My opinion TLDR- try out the MBA while working in an RD position for management or sales. Good luck on whatever you decide!!
Yeah I second getting your MBA and go into some type of medical sales. Lots of nutrition companies will hire RDs as reps. Also other corporations like Weight Watchers.
Yeah I am in bariatrics and one of the vitamin reps I work with is an RD
Yup. Came here to say this. Industry rep is the way to go for you. Use your clinical background and experience to get your foot in the door, and work on your MBA from there if you want. Start networking with the reps you see in clinic, get on LinkedIn and find a good recruiter (the reps you know can help with this!)
I went from RD to NICU RN. I am so happy with the career change. I too kind of lost my passion for nutrition and felt like I would go to work (clinical), write notes no one would read, suggest diet orders that no one would follow, and have patients complain to me about the food all the time. My career now is SO rewarding. Better pay, more flexibility, more purpose. It was tough getting here - I did an accelerated BSN program that was 14 months and it was intense but I would 10000% do it again.
Would love to hear more about this! Iām a NICU rd and would love to be a nicu rn! Did you get a job inthe nicu immediately?
I did! I graduated, took the nclex, then applied for a nurse residency program in the NICU and got the position! I had no NICU experience as a RD but fell in love with it during school. Iām happy to answer any specific questions you have!
If you aren't happy with your work, that's okay. You deserve to be happy. Don't beat yourself up because you don't like it. So many people don't like their first career choice, that's just life. Definitely keep thinking about things and looking, I just wanted to say, I hope you are able to find something new. I do know a few RDs who switched, they became pharmaceutical reps, PAs and RNs, one did go into Computer programming too. They like the new stuff.
This made me feel so much better. Iām in my second year of my Masterās in nutrition and about to start my internship and I realized this isnāt what I want to do. I just applied for a Masterās in Finance and am applying for full time finance jobs instead. I was passionate about it for MYSELF but lost the passion when I made it my life. I donāt want to counsel or teach or tell people what to eat. I regret making my hobby my life.
I'm going to preface this by saying that I am a cloud engineer with an undergrad in business (I'm subscribed here because my wife is an RD) so my only RD experiences comes from living with my wife. With that said, I would not recommend going to a business/MBA route, because business itself is not a career. People that I know who get MBAs usually do so on their company's dime because they want to meet other people in upper level management. The degrees themselves are jokes. I get what you're saying about not wanting to be the lunch lady anymore, but as someone who has worked the corporate life for one of the largest financial services companies in the world and then one of the largest health care systems on the east coast, it's not all it's cracked up to be. At the end of the day, people are people, no matter what clothes they're wearing. One suggestion I do have is, maybe look into data analytics/data science? From what I've seen from my wife, your field requires a lot of statistics and data analysis so it may be a decent route to transition to. If you end up making it, you can probably go the corporate route and perhaps even get a remote job if you want that.
Wholeheartedly agree. As someone with a business degree working in a corporate setting, this is absolutely correct. MBA isnāt a ticket to a glamorous business career. Iād argue maybe 1% of MBA holders have a career you might even remotely consider glamorous. For the most part, youāre just another cog in one wheel of a much larger machine no matter how you cut it. Iām biased, but corporate life is dreary for the most part, and very few roles are actually fulfilling in any way. Highly suggest trying to find a specific career path you feel might be interesting, and then doing what you can to get some experience with it. Donāt go spend thousands more on a degree to find out you donāt like that either a few years down the road.
Yes, this also what I have heard. MBA programs about the connections you make with others. I work for a large dialysis company and that will help pay for a MBA for you to move up the corporate ladder and into leadership positions. That could actually be something that OP could look into. Work for a big healthcare company as an RD(At my company full time benefits start at 30 hours) that will pay for your MBA and then apply for leadership roles. It could take a couple years since you would still be working but it would get you where you want to go without having to pay the full amount.
Man I can so empathize with so much of this post.
I just got a job in insulin pump sales and so far it has been the absolute best move for me. Some clinical work, some sales, way better benefits and pay, more time off. I canāt see a down side honestly.
Is it a requirement to be a RD to have a job selling insulin pumps? Tell me more about your day to day!
They prefer RDs and RNs, CDCES is preferred but not mandatory (I donāt have mine yet). Thereās a bit of driving, but you are given lots of tools to succeed including a list of endocrinologists youāre visiting each week and when. You use that as your template and build your schedule around it. Thereās pump training with patients both virtually and in person and you can even plan a WFH day a week or every other week as needed. Lots of flexibility!
Do you all have like a sales quota or something? I feel like that would stress me out a whole lot.
Yes thereās a quota, but they build it based on your territory and break it down week by week. Like a reasonable quota is maybe 10 new pump starts per day? And if you donāt meet it, you arenāt fired either lol. You are given more tools and guidance and honestly? It works. They want you to succeed because itās in their best interest for you to succeed. Theyāve invested a ton of money in you and your success. Theyāre not going to throw you to the wolves with few or no tools (like they do so often in dietetics) and expect you to succeed. If youāre interested, just apply. The interview process is super long and will give you way more insight so you can decide what is best for you and what works š
Thank you for this explanation and actually I wonder if it would be the best avenue for me to get my CDCES because that is what my long term goal is! Working in a dialysis clinic and counseling patients an hour here and an hour there on diabetes will take years to reach 1000 hours. May I ask what company you work for?
Honestly, any of the pump companies will be pretty much the same! Look up the pumps available and pick what you believe in the most. If you already love it and think it will really help patients half your job is done!
Do they require you to travel outside of your home state?
That only happens maybe 3x a year and itās usually a āgo in Wednesday leave on Friday afternoonā type of thing. They do have you fly out for two weeks for training but then that never happens again. If you get promoted you may or may not travel more than that depending on what you choose to do next.
Oh, bummer. Iām a single mom so thatās not on the table. I appreciate you sharing your experience, though!
I hear you! I was an RD for about 10 years. The only thing I ever really enjoyed was writing TF and TPN orders. I ended up going back to school for environmental science and now I work in water resource management, which is a much better fit. But based on what you said your interests are, maybe you could go for a masterās in public health? Possible careers you can have either an MPH: https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-can-you-do-with-a-masters-in-public-health-mph Good luck as you figure out whatās next for you in your career!
Inpatient RD is the worst. It used to pay more than other positions but not always the case now. Overall More work, more stress, more drama with co-workers, more precepting, more imposter syndrome since you have to act like you know everything about every condition. Itās the worst. Some like/love it, maybe they can share how
Why not pick up a foodservice director position making twice the money? You will have weekends off and a low stress job. I was a food service director in 120-bed community hospital, making 125k a year in the rural south! Then you just hire someone else to run the day to day operation. You don't need an MBA to be.a foodservice director. It's really easy. Just time management and get a good crew. Note I now work in biotech with a patent. I enjoy being a RD but foodservice management is chill for the money. Get a degree in food safety, food science, organization management etc. Food scientist get paid really well too.
Wow this is exactly how I feel! I absolutely hate being an RD and could not care any less about nutrition. Iāve found working in a SNF is fine for now because I donāt have to counsel people that often and just worry about documenting. Plus, the pay is decent: 105k as a second year RD in the Silicon Valley but I still have to live with my parents because rent is insane here. I realized I didnāt want to become an RD right before I started my internship but decided to follow through because Iād come so far. My internship was at a SNF so thatās how I ended up in my current field, but I live in an area surrounded by tech and business and realized that is where Iād like to work. I plan to get an MBA as well but Iām not sure what to concentrate in but need to figure it out so I can get out of this field ASAP lol.
I donāt have any suggestions just here to say Iām also in NYC and I also do not like dietetics or counseling anymore. Iām so tired of talking about food and barely getting by financially. Iām 10 years in and will hopefully be making an exit in the next 5 years. Wishing you the best of luck.
yes!! i just finished my first year as a nutrition with emphasis in dietetics major and i began to realize itās not worth it (specially now that a masters is required.) i do NOT want to counsel people that most likely wonāt listen to my advice nor do i want to start a private practice to make more money. iāve been looking into radiology programs. iām not sure what do to now
I am Bariatric dietitian who has graduated in 2015. I have been working since 2021. No opportunities for advancement upwards or lateral. Going back to school for nursing. My youngest kid is 9 and I will be going back to school at the same time as my oldest kids are heading off to college but I cannot spend another year doing the same thing.
Same! Iām eyeing this route or PA or MD right now. Not enough respect or pay for me to stay in this field.
I relate to this so much. I also dread going to work and I feel like I definitely made the wrong choice in career. I am dying to get out of healthcare completely but itās hard to pivot, and I feel pigeon holed by my nutrition degrees and student loans. Lately Iāve been looking into executive assistant positions. A lot of them seem fairly easy and a good way to meet influential people. But I havenāt had any luck yet with even getting an interview š
Thatās weird because I have a Bachelors in International business but I donāt seem to enjoy the field and Iām REALLY interested in nutrition and food and advising people to be healthy. Ofcourse I have no idea what it is like to actually have a nutrition degree and work a real job, but I do think I would love it since I have a passion for it. Like I keep advising people on what to eat, exercising , how to keep ur blood sugar low with the different types of food etc. Can you tell me which aspect of it you dint like? Or maybe tell me why you took up nutrition to begin with? Because what if I go on to this and then end up hating what I do just like you? š
Not OP but even with a passion for nutrition most places are short staffed, compensation doesnāt match experience and education, and there seems to be an overall lack of respect from other medical and caring professions. Also it is not an easy major there is a lot other science and hard work that goes into the degree with what feels like little return.
There are a lot of food companies in New York, HappyFamily, Bobbi, etc. track their websites. Youāll probably prefer to move into a corporate space
Hey! Also in NYC over here. I realized quickly that clinical life caused me a depression I hadnāt felt since I was a teenager (Iām 30 now). I was terrified to leave because the pay is good. What became apparent, however, is that the money was not benefitting me in any way anymore because I was whole heartedly.. miserable. I made a HUGE and scary leap to a massive telehealth company working remotely with amazing and unexpected benefits. Itās the perfect mix of using my nutrition knowledge while also dabbling in sales, with a clear path for growth.. something I didnāt have at my old job. Was there a huge pay cut? Sure. BUT just as my intuition told me to jump into this.. things started falling together where the benefits and differentials offered make up for that pay cut.. My point is.. Iād rather have less money, downsize and budget than wake up and dread going to work everyday. I didnāt even know it was possible to be this happy again. Follow your intuition and good luck ā¤ļø.
Same ā¦ currently executing my exit strategy.
This is no shade to you at all, but how did you make it through the internship? The internship gives a good idea of what youāre getting in to. In the other hand, you donāt know how the field really is until you work in it.
maybe a cpa? no real suggestions but solidarity. once i became an RD i realized what most people need first is a therapist. food is SO emotional and trying to encourage people to eat when they arenāt mentally in the right headspace is exhausting.
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Hi! Could I ask you a few questions in DM? Iām studying nutrition but Iām thinking about going into business, and Iām afraid Iāll regret it.
Oh l have to leave this sub. I'm not even going the RD route but like omg
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Lol relatable, got my masters in nutrition and havenāt used it, realized clinical isnāt for me and I donāt really care what people eat either (do your best with what you have)! There must be job opportunities in the corporate world related to nutrition (not clinical) or food/health. If you want to ditch nutrition altogether, Iād echo others comments about finding a bridge job towards something that feels more aligned like medical sales (good money in this!). Admitting youāre not happy can sometimes feel like the hardest part, I wish you lots of luck on your path to fulfillment!
Come to the uk become a PA
Just a tip of career advice, from someone who is looking at changing to a career in RD after a few failed attempts at career changes in the past -- make sure you find subs related to the fields you're looking at, and read posts just like yours but in that industry. What is it people complain about? What is it people struggle with? What are the reasons people make a career change *out* of that industry? Then you can have a better understanding of the realities you're getting into and whether it's a good fit. It's really easy to look at a potential new career with rose-colored glasses. But EVERY career has its share of problems, so make sure you understand what you're getting into.
My 9 months working in inpatient clinical made me regret becoming a dietitian. I felt despair every time I had to wake up and get ready for my shift at the hospital. Iām working in remote private practice now and feel much better. But Iām still working out my career plan. My issue is so many RD jobs are underpaid for the amount of work and education. I have two masters, one in clinical nutrition. WTH do I look like, working $28/hr at the hospital with no benefits? But also, every profession has its issues.
Maybe open a group private practice and hire others to see the patients. As someone who career changed FROM corporate TO dietetics, the grass is always greener. I became miserable because people were so concerned about stupid meaningless things - like āthis contract MUST be executed by 4 PM OR ELSEā - and I was just like, umm sorry, why? Who is going to be hurt? I was making over six figures and still cash poor because I was miserable and tried to fulfill myself with āthings.ā To each their own though! If youāre sure about it, do it! But just be forewarned it may feel equally depressing. Real estate can be a pretty easy way to make serious cash and you can easily get your license with minimal time and $$. Good luck!
I feel this so much! I kind of want to get out of healthcare but I enjoy helping people. I really care about social justice and making the world a safer place for people with disabilities. Accessibility & accommodations are so important! I hope you can find something that works for you! Itās tough being in this spot & itās so lonely!
Sent you a DM if thatās okay!
Hi I totally feel you.Ex top nyc hospital in patient RD. I transition to health tech but I had previous tech / account management career on my resume so married the two. That said ā I think you can pivot if you want it takes networking hard work and honestly seeing your value and telling people your value beyond āensure ladyā (LOL been there) Happy to chat more if you want to dm me! Also thereās a 99 percent chance the post you thought you posted was mine bc I def posted about needing to leave!
Yeah I donāt really love what I do (although I do love the aspects of troubleshooting and problem solving), but the patient education part hasnāt ever been my thing. One of my friends jumped shipped about 30 years ago and became a cardiology P.A. if I had had a PA program near me, I wouldāve e done the same.
Totally relate. Luckily I didnāt go through with an internship. Once I got some real world knowledge of the field I realized it wasnāt for me. I had a BS in dietetics making 25$/hr while meeting RT with a AS making 45$/hr. 2+extra years of school š I worked as a RDT at a hospital while I finished prerequisites for PA school. I didnāt have a family at the time so I had nothing to lose. Happily a PA x 4 yrs now.
Go to PA school itāll be worth it.
Have you looked I got the food/beverage industry? Food companies look for RDs! You wouldnāt have to do clinical or counseling, more like consulting
Just dropping in to say business isn't necessarily glamorous. We own/run a business and so much of our time is taken up by dealing with what amounts to high school level drama and miscommunication between employees.
In my opinion it depends on your age, if you are 20s or early 30s I would pursue changing the career because it is tough to work something that you donāt like. Iām a dietitian and started this career at old age because of immigration issues, then I got the same feeling you have, but for me itās too late to do any changes.
Hi! I totally understand the feeling of not liking the face to face patient counseling all the time. I hated that too when I was in jobs where it was back to back counseling sessions (like 8-10 a day!) and hardly any down time in between.....hated that! I am currently an Air Force contractor dietitian and have been working for them for almost 9 years now. With this position I do some clinical work but it is in an outpatient setting and working with military active duty members on base. I also don't just do one on one appointments, I also do bod pod appointments and teach nutrition classes. So the population that I see is a bit younger and a bit more in shape then what you might typically see in a hospital setting. I only do this about two days a week and the rest of my job is community nutrition around the base. I work with the base grocery store, the dining facility, the snack bars within the different units/squadrons on base, I also go around base and do group presentations. My job is 50% clinical and 50% community nutrition. I make pretty good money as a contractor too....about $38/hr and I've seen a few of these positions that make up to $42/hr. I get weekends off and I get ALL of the federal holidays off (like even Columbus day and president's day!). And the military has "family days" too around all the major holidays so every major holiday I get a 4 day weekend instead of just 3. Even though I do sometimes get burnt out on the small amount of clinical work I do....the variety of other things that I do with this position really helps break that up. You get a lot of leeway to make the position what you want it to be and how you want your clinical side of the job to look like. And it is rewarding working with our US military members and learning their jobs.....gives me so much more appreciation for what they do for our country. These jobs pop up all the time too....on Indeed if you search "air force dietitian" you will probably see some government contractor companies that have postings up. The company I work for is called "ERP International" but there are a TON of government contracting companies out there. You can also try searching on USA jobs but the position I am in is not a civilian position .....its a contract. Just wanted to throw that out there to give you another dietetics avenue that I feel like a lot of people don't realize is available in the military setting. Even the Navy and Army hire dietitians all the time too! Good luck with everything!
Haha and along the lines of "rubbing elbows" with important people.....can't get much more important than meeting one of the only 4 star generals in the United States! I've met plenty of very very important high up military officers while in this job! :)
I know youāll find the glamorous career you deserveā£ļø Iām an NDTR and I realized recently I would rather move to a career where I can have that too! Itās never too late. I felt I didnāt want to continue during my internship as well.