Dietetic Technicians
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Works under a dietitian to assess what people eat, plan menus or diets from set guidelines, and watch patient intake and weight, reporting problems and progress. May cook a main meal from recipes and figure quantities for a group, or help supervise food production and service. Guides individuals or families on food choices, sits in care meetings with other health staff, and may help with research on food or food service systems. Some of the work also covers staff schedules and job descriptions. Suits people who like practical food work, careful record-keeping, and explaining nutrition in plain terms.
Typical education: Associate’s Degree (2-year)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$37'640
Median Wage Market Position
$37'640
What you might do
- Track patients' meals and weight changes
- Review eating histories to plan nutrition programs
- Plan menus that follow set nutrition guidelines
- Prepare large meals from recipes and quantities
- Help oversee kitchen production and food service
- Guide families on food choices and meal planning
Skills that matter
- Tracking patient intake and weight
- Dietary histories for nutrition plans
- Menu planning from established guidelines
- Teaching food selection to families
- Reports of diet problems to dietitians
- Preparing meals from recipes and quantities
AI & the future of this role
Menu planning, nutrient calculations, and routine nutrition education materials are tasks software could increasingly handle. Hands-on food service support and counseling that needs rapport and clinical judgment under a dietitian still tend to matter.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details