What Can You Do With a Nutrition and Dietetics Degree?

Below are 13 occupations that nutrition and dietetics graduates commonly move into, most common first. Dietitian leads at $76,400 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $64,070 and 0 of 13 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.

What the degree actually involves: Biochemistry, food science, medical nutrition therapy, and supervised practice.

Nutrition splits early into two different degrees wearing one name. The dietetics track is a licensed clinical route with supervised practice and a registration exam at the end of it; the wider nutrition and food science track leads into community health, food manufacturing, quality and wellness work. Which one you are on decides most of this list.

Common destinations: 13
Median pay range: $37,640–$123,860
Projected to grow: 13 of 13
Need a graduate degree: 0 of 13

How this list was built

The destinations are the occupations nutrition and dietetics graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.

13 careers a nutrition and dietetics degree commonly leads to

Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.

1. Dietitian
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Median pay
$76,400
Growth
+5.5%
Openings/yr
6,200
Education
Bachelor's
Plan and conduct food service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and control of disease.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
2. Dietetic Technician
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Median pay
$37,640
Growth
+2.5%
Openings/yr
4,000
Education
Associate's
Assist in the provision of food service and nutritional programs, under the supervision of a dietitian.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
3. Health Education Specialist
Community and Social Service
Median pay
$64,070
Growth
+4.5%
Openings/yr
7,900
Education
Bachelor's
Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
4. Community Health Worker
Community and Social Service
Median pay
$51,850
Growth
+11.3%
Openings/yr
7,800
Education
High school
Promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
5. Food Scientist and Technologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$88,720
Growth
+6.5%
Openings/yr
1,200
Education
Bachelor's
Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein;…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
6. Food Science Technician
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$52,130
Growth
+4.8%
Openings/yr
3,200
Education
Associate's
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
7. Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor
Personal Care and Service
Median pay
$47,160
Growth
+11.9%
Openings/yr
74,200
Education
High school
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in exercise activities for the primary purpose of personal fitness.
Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor salary & outlook →
8. Fitness and Wellness Coordinator
Management
Median pay
$69,770
Growth
+6.5%
Openings/yr
2,100
Education
High school
Manage or coordinate fitness and wellness programs and services.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
9. Exercise Physiologist
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Median pay
$59,460
Growth
+9.5%
Openings/yr
1,700
Education
Bachelor's
Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexib…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
10. Food Service Manager
Management
Median pay
$69,390
Growth
+6.4%
Openings/yr
42,000
Education
High school
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.
Food Service Manager salary & outlook →
11. Quality Control Analyst
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Median pay
$62,280
Growth
+3.5%
Openings/yr
10,600
Education
Associate's
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
12. Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
Median pay
$80,730
Growth
+3.0%
Openings/yr
33,300
Education
Bachelor's
Coordinate and document internal regulatory processes, such as internal audits, inspections, license renewals, or registrations.
Regulatory Affairs Specialist salary & outlook →
13. Medical and Health Services Manager
Management
Median pay
$123,860
Growth
+23.2%
Openings/yr
62,100
Education
Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate medical and health services in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations, public health agencies, or similar organizations.
Medical and Health Services Manager salary & outlook →

Does a nutrition and dietetics degree decide your career?

For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.

The practical reading of the list above is this: every destination on it lists a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034), so the decisions that matter after the degree are about experience rather than more study.

Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.

Nutrition and Dietetics degrees: FAQ

Do you need a master's degree after a nutrition and dietetics degree?

Not for the destinations on this page. BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement for all 13 of them. Individual employers can still ask for more.

What is the highest-paying career a nutrition and dietetics degree leads to?

Of the 13 destinations on this page, Medical and Health Services Manager has the highest national median wage at $123,860 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is bachelor's. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.

Which of these careers hires the most people each year?

Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, with about 74,200 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 13 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 256,300 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.

Is a nutrition and dietetics degree worth it?

That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $64,070 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $37,640–$123,860, and 13 of the 13 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).

How was this list of careers put together?

The destinations were curated as the occupations nutrition and dietetics graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.

How this list was built

13 careers a nutrition and dietetics degree commonly leads to

1. Dietitian

2. Dietetic Technician

3. Health Education Specialist

4. Community Health Worker

5. Food Scientist and Technologist

6. Food Science Technician

7. Exercise Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor

8. Fitness and Wellness Coordinator

9. Exercise Physiologist

10. Food Service Manager

11. Quality Control Analyst

12. Regulatory Affairs Specialist

13. Medical and Health Services Manager