Career profile for Dietetic Technician

What does a Dietetic Technician do?

Dietetic Technicians assist in the provision of food service and nutritional programs, under the supervision of a dietitian.

In addition, Dietetic Technicians may plan and produce meals based on established guidelines, teach principles of food and nutrition, or counsel individuals.

What kind of tasks does a Dietetic Technician perform regularly?

Dietetic Technicians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Observe and monitor patient food intake and body weight, and report changes, progress, and dietary problems to dietician.
Conduct nutritional assessments of individuals, including obtaining and evaluating individuals' dietary histories, to plan nutritional programs.
Prepare a major meal, following recipes and determining group food quantities.
Supervise food production or service or assist dietitians or nutritionists in food service supervision or planning.
Plan menus or diets or guide individuals or families in food selection, preparation, or menu planning, based upon nutritional needs and established guidelines.
Develop job specifications, job descriptions, or work schedules.
Attend interdisciplinary meetings with other health care professionals to discuss patient care.
Provide dietitians with assistance researching food, nutrition, or food service systems.
Select, schedule, or conduct orientation or in-service education programs.
Analyze menus or recipes, standardize recipes, or test new products.

The above responsibilities are specific to Dietetic Technicians. More generally, Dietetic Technicians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards		Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events		Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

What is a Dietetic Technician salary?

The median salary for a Dietetic Technician is $30,110, and the average salary is $32,920. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Dietetic Technician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Dietetic Technicians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Dietetic Technicians earn less than $20,980 per year, 25% earn less than $25,490, 75% earn less than $38,090, and 90% earn less than $49,000.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Dietetic Technicians is expected to change by 7.5%, and there should be roughly 2,200 open positions for Dietetic Technicians every year.

Median annual salary: $30,110
Typical salary range: $20,980 - $49,000
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 7.5%

What personality traits are common among Dietetic Technicians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Dietetic Technician are usually higher in their Social, Investigative, and Realistic interests.

Dietetic Technicians typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Dietetic Technicians typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Dietetic Technicians typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Dietetic Technician tend to value Relationships, Support, and Independence.

Most importantly, Dietetic Technicians strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Dietetic Technicians strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Dietetic Technicians somewhat value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Dietetic Technicians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, concern for others, and adaptability/flexibility.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Dietetic Technicians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Adaptability/Flexibility		Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Adaptability/Flexibility

Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

What education and training do Dietetic Technicians need?

Dietetic Technicians often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Dietetic Technicians usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Dietetic Technicians

8.8% did not complete high school or secondary school
38.7% completed high school or secondary school
26.7% completed some college coursework
13.8% earned a Associate's degree
10.4% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.1% earned a Master's degree
0.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Dietetic Technicians

Dietetic Technicians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, education and training, or mathematics knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Dietetic Technicians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
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.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.

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.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

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.

Important Abilities needed by Dietetic Technicians

Dietetic Technicians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Dietetic Technicians need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and deductive reasoning in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Dietetic Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
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.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
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 that there is a problem.

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.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

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 that there is a problem.

Critical Skills needed by Dietetic Technicians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Dietetic Technicians frequently use skills like speaking, active listening, and reading comprehension to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Dietetic Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

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.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Dietetic Technician

Dietetic Technician

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