Are Nutritionists part of the Highest Growth Labor Market?

Plant-based food prep at the Helfgott kitchen— photo courtesy of NUNM, nunm.edu

Hi Friends!

Happy 2020!

(I’m admittedly a bit late publishing on the blog for January—oops!)

The data certainly looks promising!

In 2017—the year I turned 50— I decided to embark on a career change. That same year a piece published by AARP,* (yes that red logo’d company that pesters you THE MINUTE you turn 50!) reported that one out of the top 10 fields expected to have the largest labor shortages up to 2020, was Health Diagnostics and Treating Practitioners (this group specifically included nutritionists).

Later, in 2019, the BLM— Bureau of Labor Management reported that employment of dietitians and nutritionists was projected to grow 11 percent from 2018 to 2028. A much faster rate than the average for ALL occupations, which means that more dietitians and nutritionists are needed to provide support and care for people with chronic disease.

Now many of us know you can spin statistics to sway pretty much any data the way you want, right?

But when you look at all the data from the BLM, USG Labor Bureau and even media outlets like CNBC (Marketwatch) and various other employment think tanks, it boils down to roughly 11 of the top 20 fastest growing job markets under the umbrella of Health Diagnostics and Treating Practitioners.

It’s widely understood that nutrition plays a significant role in health and disease. Many of today’s health challenges – chronic disease, diabetes, obesity and more – can be managed or alleviated through nutrition and lifestyle changes.

“You are what you eat” has never been more true, and now we have tons of current, science-backed data to prove it in the form of randomized, controlled studies.

The role of food as medicine— improving diet to prevent 90% of chronic disease is becoming well known, and this make me super happy since this is what I LOVE to do.

I wrote a story last year on my personal experience with my own career shift to holistic and functional nutrition. Shifting my career 180 degrees wasn’t an easy choice, nor was it a snap decision. The turning of that ship took a few years to implement.

Today the folks at Medium published my story on their site called The Ascent. You can read it here. If you are not already reading Medium you may need to create a an account (its free). Check it out and hit the little clapping hands symbol on the far left if you like the story. Thanks in advance if you do!

The decision to head back to grad school and study/train in clinical nutrition was the most personally rewarding decision I’ve made.

I hope something inspires you to consider what shifts you can make in your life to make your next decade a rewarding one.

Please reach out to me if you are looking for help or direction on programs and resources for how to transition into holistic nutrition, or where to get comprehensive training as a nutritionist.

I plan to write a more comprehensive piece next quarter on the nutrition field, the work they do (clinical nutritionist, community or general nutritionist) and what is the difference between an nutritionist, RD, etc.

Thanks for reading and supporting!

xxoo

-Julie

*The AARP article lists the top growing field (double digits) of Health Diagnostics and Treating Practitioners as: Pharmacists, exercise physiologists, dietitians and nutritionists, therapists, podiatrists, optometrists, surgeons, orthodontists, dentists, and chiropractors among the job titles in this group.