If you are still in school/Jr. college, and wish to become a dietician or a nutritionist, it is recommended that you study B.Sc./B.A. degree in Nutrition after your 12th. Student from any stream can join this program, but students from science stream, who have taken Biology as a subject, are preferred. Alternatively you can also pursue a B.Sc in Food Technology after your 12th.
After your graduation, you will have to pursue either a postgraduate diploma in nutrition and dietetics or a Master’s degree in Food & Nutrition. Note that, many of these programs do not require you to have a bachelor’s degree in Food Science. Some accept students with any science related degree. So even if your bachelor’s degree was not related to Food and Nutrition, you can still pursue a Master’s degree or Diploma in Nutrition. (Pursuing a Masters degree is however recommended over a diploma as it increases your chances of employment).
Most Masters degree offer you the option to specialize in one of the areas of Nutrition such as Clinical Health (dealing with clinical patients), Child/Adolescents, Public Health, Food processing and few more. Completing your Masters degree makes you a Nutritionist and not a Dietician.
Nutritionist Vs Dietician in India
Many use the terms Dietician and Nutritionist interchangeably, but there is a key difference. Nutritionists recommend diets to people to lead a healthy lifestyle or to increase or decrease their body weight. Dietitians guide patients, depending on their medical conditions, on right kinds of nutritional intake. To be a dietician, one has to register with the Indian Dietetic Association as a Registered Dietician. To qualify as a Registered Dietician, one has to pass the exam conducted by the Indian Dietetic Association (IDA). To be eligible for this exam one must complete either the Post Graduate Diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics or a M.Sc. in Food & Nutrition, followed by a minimum of 6-months internship after graduation.
As a Dietician, you can either become a
- Clinical Dietician (working with patients in a hospital)
- Pediatric Dieticians (working with children)
- Sports and Health Dieticians
- Community Dieticians
If you have an inclination towards food, like to experiment with it, and are health conscious, becoming a dietician or a nutritionist can be a great career choice.
You may also want to read the story of a Pediatric Dietician Pooja Marathe at https://careerfox.in/interview-pooja-marathe-paediatric-nutritionist/
In 2005 Jay Rege, along with his wife Jothsna Rege, co-founded Academy One, a career guidance and study abroad counseling venture. Prior to co-founding Academy One, he worked as a software developer with HCL Technologies. He holds a computer engineering degree from Mumbai University and a MBA from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, USA. He has also been a visiting faculty at a few colleges where he teaches topics related to entrepreneurship.