Becoming a nutritionist - advice needed

[Agii]

Hi,

I'm very interested in nutrition, nutritional science and have been for years. I read books and love the content online related to it. So I've seriously started considering a career change for the thing I truly enjoy.
So...nutritionists -
What are the routes of getting the basic degree/qualification to get me started? I am open to apprenticeships, university, college.
Right now I have found a 4 year course at local uni, but I need to understand what other options are out there to without 36k debt, if there is any ?

Pretty sure anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, it's not a protected term and no qualifications are needed. Dieticians are the real deal, so look into that.

https://www.bda.uk.com/about-dietetics/how-become-a-dietitian/financial-support-for-dietetic-students-in-the-uk.html

https://www.bda.uk.com/about-dietetics/how-become-a-dietitian/where-to-study-dietetics.html

You want to be a dietitian. A nutritionist is a made up thing that anyone can call themselves.

Thank you! That's where I needed help to understand where I need to look. Dietician it is.

I think you also need to weigh up what debt you're willing to get into and how much time and effort you want to put in and for what. Yes anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but I have an hons degree in nutrition from one of the top Scottish unis so if I did that I'd be fair game. There are lower, accredited courses than degree level that are still perfectly respectable. You could still make a good career and be a reputable nutritionist for a fraction of the time and effort, which isn't necessary if for example you wanted to do freelance sports nutrition. Don't write it off based on there being some charlatans out there.

Hi there
Actually, not all nutritionists are charlatans... those with ANutr. or RNutr. after their name are regulated by the Association of Nutrition - an organisation just as rigorous as the BDA. The difference is that dietitians can work in hospital settings. You want to do a degree which is accredited by the AfN... it explains it all here https://www.associationfornutrition.org/careers-nutrition

You don't need a qualification to call yourself a nutritionist. Anyone can say it. But it's similar to psychotherapy/ counselling - there are qualifications you can take and you can still be professional and offer a robust service.

If you want to be a dietician, you will need a degree.

I think you need to think about what you would want your career to look like - would you want to work in healthcare settings with people who may be unwell (dietician) or do you want to work more with people who are interested in improving their health and fitness, getting 'ideal' nutrition, more of a personal trainer/ lifestyle improvement kind of approach (nutritionist)?

The best thing to do first of all might be to seek out some work experience or someone you can shadow/ connect with, to find out a little bit more.

There is no point doing a qualification until you know what you want your career to be afterwards.

Yes you can train to be a registered nutritionist (this is with AfN) or a registered sports and exercise nutritionist (the British dietetic association) hold the registrations for these. Similarly public health nutritionists and research nutritionists can register. So whilst it’s true anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, certain jobs require you to be registered and generally require a degree or post grad course that is certified with one of the registration bodies. I’d stay away from ‘ nutritional therapist’ unless you prefer more alternative/holistic stuff. That is very different from being a registered nutritionist.

Dieticians are more clinical trained so you will work in a hospital as part of your training.You cover the fundamentals of nutrition but also acute and chronic nutritional management for patients, so that might be at the very acute end providing parenteral nutrition, to working with type 2 diabetes patients or running your own more private practice. As a dietician you can also then prescribe certain feeds, supplements etc in a clinical environment.

I’d think what you want to be doing day to day at then end. If you want to work in public health or with private clients, media and food companies then being a registered nutritionist is sufficient and you can still do lots of cpd etc. If you want to be able to work with people with medical conditions and enjoy a bit more science and clinical training I’d go for dietetics.

Go on the AfN and BDA websites too, they are both very helpful. And def do some work experience of both as @froggirl said.

My dietician said if she was to do her degree again she would make sure to do psychology as most of our problems around food are mental.

@Agii another vote here for becoming a Dietician rather than a Nutritionist. I recommend you read Ben Goldacre's 'Bad Science'.