Dietetic Technician

Types of Degrees Dietetic Technician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dietetic technician graduations there were in 2019-2020 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	142
Basic Certificate	102
Undergraduate Certificate	9

What Dietetic Technician Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to dietetic technician were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Dietetic Technician Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in dietetic technician should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Dietetic Technician Majors

dietetic technician majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for Dietetic Technician Majors

As you progress with your dietetic technician degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Dietetic Technician Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dietetic technician:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dietetic Technicians	9.3%	$27,140

How Much Do Dietetic Technician Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Dietetic Technician majors often go into careers with median salaries of $30,130. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Dietetic Technician

Some careers associated with dietetic technician require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dietetic technician careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	23.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	60.9%
Some College Courses	6.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	6.3%

Online Dietetic Technician Programs

In the 2019-2020 academic year, 40 schools offered some type of dietetic technician program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	5	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	36	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Dietetic Technician Worth It?

The median salary for a dietetic technician grad is $30,130 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Majors Related to Dietetic Technician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dietetic technician.

Major	Number of Grads
Dietetics/Dietitian	3,686
Clinical Nutrition/Nutritionist	983
Other Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	549
Dietitian Assistant	349

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.