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Nutritionist

Alternative titles for this job include

Nutritionists share scientific food knowledge and advice about the effects of diet and nutrition on health and wellbeing.

Average salary (a year)

£24,907 Starter

to

£37,890 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 39 a week

You could work

between 8am and 6pm

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a nutritionist

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course

University

You'll usually need a degree or postgraduate qualification approved by the Association for Nutrition.

Approved courses include:

  • food and nutrition
  • biochemistry
  • physiology
  • public health
  • health promotion

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including biology or chemistry
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

More Information

Volunteering

For healthcare roles, you'll find it helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience in the NHS before you apply for a course.

Contact the voluntary services co-ordinator at your local NHS trust for further advice.

You could also consider work experience in sectors like;

  • food safety
  • animal welfare
  • food poverty charities
  • sport and fitness
  • food manufacturing
  • university research laboratories

You can also find volunteering opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Do IT.

More Information

Career tips

You could take a short course to help you decide whether this is the right career for you. You can find details from the Association for Nutrition and FutureLearn.

Professional and industry bodies

You can register with the Association for Nutrition to join the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists for professional recognition.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in nutrition from the Association for Nutrition and Health Careers.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • sensitivity and understanding
  • knowledge of biology
  • knowledge of training and educating
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to work on your own
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

Your duties will vary depending where you work. Generally, you might:

  • undertake nutrition research projects
  • recruit volunteers to take part in trials
  • process and analyse biological samples
  • run workshops and presentations
  • provide evidence-based scientific advice on healthy eating
  • run healthy eating campaigns aimed at particular groups
  • work under the supervision of doctors, dieticians and nurses with patients in hospital

Working environment

You could work in an NHS or private hospital, in the community, at a GP practice, at a health centre or in a laboratory.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience, further training or a postgraduate qualification you could specialise in areas like:

  • sports and exercise nutrition
  • public health
  • food science
  • animal nutrition

You could move into supervisory, people or project management posts or policy development.

There are opportunities to become self-employed or work in overseas development.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a nutritionist right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Access to Science

  • Provider: CAMBRIDGE REGIONAL COLLEGE
  • Start date: 04 September 2023
  • Location: Cambridge

Access to Science

  • Provider: EALING, HAMMERSMITH & WEST LONDON COLLEGE
  • Start date: 25 September 2023
  • Location: London
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

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