Why the Dietetic Path is a Beast to Climb

There are many people today who are interested in nutrition, whether it be a hobby or a career. There are nutritionists, health coaches, food bloggers, nutrition coordinators and dietitians.

While you are choosing your career path it is of the utmost importance that you gear to the one that you want. As someone who enjoys many of the nutrition paths listed when you Google careers with a nutrition degree they tend to avoid that most of these positions require additional education and a dietitian is no different.

Competition Time

When you decide to go for a dietitian position I urge you to put aside much of your life because you will need every moment to try to overcome the fierce competition.

In 2018, there were only 82 spots for people who wanted to complete their year long internship Canada wide. Yes, Canada wide. Out of the 8 accredited universities graduates who do not include internship will fight for a position over the next three years before they must upgrade their education.

Say there is approximated 60 students at each university that is 480 students each year who are competing, not to mention the graduates from the previous two years. Not including the previous year graduates the current 2018 graduates have an 17% chance to get an intern spot. Seventeen percent.

You Need An Edge!

Most of the students graduating will be graduating with distinction and will have hours of work and volunteer experience. Non-of those basic things will make you stand out. You need an edge, a specific desire to be in the industry, a distinct project to help you out. Watching the last two years while many of the student in the dietetic graduate program crying because they didn’t receive an acceptation letter while their transcript filled with A’s goes down the drain.

Some students can’t even apply for internship. The internship is a work for free program which for some reason is supported by corporations and the government. It is a 12 month long, can’t get a loan or student loan in the process so help you child, process.

So I have to say, think about what you want. To come out of your graduate degree program and have all this vital information and unable to utilize it completely disheartening. So, make sure you know what you are getting into and what you need to do.

Author: Christa Wani

Christa Wani is a passionate nutrition advocate who actively seeks to improve and make changes to our industry. She a new graduate from the University of Guelph in Applied Human Nutrition and has been actively engaged in volunteer opportunities in the food and nutrition industry. Nutrition is also Christa’s second career where she used to design residences from interior design, to blueprints, to project coordination.

Christa is also known for her love of the outdoors, canoeing, mountain climbing, and fishing