How to Become Nutritionist - Career as Nutritionist

How to Become Nutritionist: Our health and wealth get directly affected by the diet and nutrition we take. In this era of ruckus and busy schedules, people started being more conscious about their health, to maintain their well-being, they keep a strict note of their diet, calorie intake, and burnout sessions. If you are someone who wants to acquire scientific knowledge of basic principles of nutrition and dietetics, then you should pursue the medical course in Nutrition and Dietetics.

In this course, you will understand clinical nutrition, sports nutrition, food science, public health nutrition, and how it influences human health. It will enhance your practical knowledge in the domain of Nutrition and Dietetics and its applications in the health and food industry.

What does a Nutritionist do:

A nutritionist has a vast knowledge of food science and nutrition and its influence on the human body. Nutritionists play a major role in improving their patient’s quality of life and promoting the overall welfare of their patients. Hence, a Nutritionist works as an expert/advisor to people who are concerned about their health and those who seek guidance about the type of food, portions, and amount of calorie intake that is suitable to maintain their healthy body. Preparing healthy and balanced diet charts for their patients and promoting healthy diet habits are the major concerns of a Nutritionist. Let's discuss How to become a Nutritionist.

How To Become a Nutritionist:

The answer to the question of How to become a nutritionist is, after completing 10+2, you can enroll in B.Sc in Nutrition and Dietetics course from any college. Usually, there are no entrance examinations to get admission in the undergraduate (UG) or postgraduate (PG) courses in Nutrition and Dietetics. After completing your B.Sc. in Nutrition and Dietetics, you can further enroll for Master Course in Nutrition and Dietetics (M.Sc).

Eligibility Criteria and Qualifications required to become Nutritionist:

1. To become a nutritionist, you must have passed 12th from Science Stream with Biology as the main subject from a recognized Board.
2. After 12th, you have to enroll in B.Sc Nutrition, B.Sc Home Science, B.Sc Food Technology, admission to the college is completely based on Merit. Minimum 50% marks are required but some Renowned colleges demand more than just 50% to grant admission.
3. For M.Sc in Food and Nutrition with a specialization in therapeutic nutrition, you must have a bachelor's degree in Food and Nutrition. The subjects included in the specialization of food and Nutrition are Biochemistry, food microbiology, food safety, food science and quality control, advanced human nutrition, Physiology, and principles of food science.

Career As a Nutritionist:

After knowing the answer to How to become a nutritionist and after acquiring the educational qualification and skills to become a nutritionist there are different job roles related to fitness, preventive healthcare, and nutrition. You can apply for the following jobs, based on your interest:

1. Clinical Nutritionist: This type of nutritionist provides medical advice to the patients affected by some disease or deficiency. They usually work in hospital setups, clinics, and offices. A graduate in B.Sc Nutrition and Dietetics can work as a nutritionist and dietician in health centers and Multinational companies, other recommended job roles are project assistant, chief nutritionist, and project associate in government, Non-government and private organizations. Also, you can apply to become a Registered Dietitian(RD) or Bariatric Surgery Nutritionist while practicing as a Clinical Nutritionist.

2. Food Service Nutritionist: Food Service Nutritionists work in foodservice ventures, restaurants, and other large-scale food establishments. Their work is to audit and inspect the kitchen to ensure that kitchen staff and managers are fulfilling the regulatory standards.

3. Pediatric Nutritionist: Their role is about improving children’s health by making some alterations and changes in their usual eating habits. For eg- Children with special needs, obesity, and diabetes. They are responsible for advising parents about the importance of a balanced diet chart for the proper growth of their child and suggesting a diet plan to improve the health of the child.

4. Sports Nutritionist: They provide dietary advice to the sports players, preparing a diet chart with specific nutrition ideal for the sports players. They help the sportsperson to meet the nutrition standard ideal for their athletic lifestyle.

The scope and job roles lies under this category are as follows:

• Nutritionist at sports training, gyms, and fitness center.
• Fitness Streaming Programmer.
• Digital sports coach for gym enthusiasts.
• Nutritionist in sports training and fitness centers.
• Nutritionist at Sports Authority of India.

5. Consultant Nutritionist: A consultant Nutritionist reviews the patient's current diet and advises a planned diet to achieve welfare goals like losing weight or treating a disease.

6. Public Health Nutritionist: A public health nutritionist is responsible for identifying nutritional issues and explaining the people in risk communities. They also examine the health and discuss the dietary requirements of the patients. They are also responsible for developing effective diet plans, accounting for cost and cultural preferences. You can get a job as Project Assistant at organizations like PHFI, WHO, UNICEF, health organizations. You can also become a public health Policymaker if you aspire to achieve big in the field of Public Health Nutrition.

7. Industry of Food and Science Technology: You can work with renowned organizations like FSSAI as Food Scientists, Food Auditor/ Food Quality controllers, Food Analyst, Research Associate, Consultant, and Technical Label Analyst.

8. Self-Employed in Blogging about Nutrition: You can work as a blogger and write about nutrition plans, eating habits, and other topics related to nutrition, food, and diet.

Nutritionist Salaries:

Job Profile	Starting Salary	Mid Level Salary	Senior Level Salary
Nutritionist	Rs 1,40,000 p.a	Rs 3,00,000 p.a	Rs 6,20,000 p.a
Pediatric Nutritionist	Rs 4,90,000 p.a	Rs 10,00,000 p.a	Rs 25,00,00 p.a
Sports Nutritionist	Rs 5,00,000 p.a	Rs 10,00,000 p.a	Rs 14,00,000 p.a

Corporate companies and Healthcare companies which are hiring Nutritionists:

• well wise
• Metropolis Healthcare
• Cargill
• Cora Health
• Hopscotch Health
• BWW GLOBAL

Subjects And Syllabus (B.Sc in Nutrition And Dietetics):

Only knowing how to become a Nutritionist is not enough you should also aware of what subjects are being taught in this course. The course B.Sc in Nutrition and Dietetics is divided into 6 semesters and the following are the subjects in each semester:

1st Semester	2nd Semester
Soft skills and communication skills	Human Nutrition
Food and Nutrition	Mother and Child Health
Food chemistry	Nutritional Biochemistry
Human Physiology	Public Health and Nutrition
3rd Semester	4th Semester
Family Meal and Diet Planning	Science of Bakery and Confectionary
Food Industry Management	Introduction to Food Science
Food Quality Analysis	Introduction to Food Preservation
Food Microbiology	-
5th Semester	6th Semester
Introduction to Dietetics	Dietetics-2
Food processing management and operations	Food Biotechnology
Food Packaging and Marketing operations	Diet and Patient Counselling
Nutritional Ethics	Food Service Management

Nutritionist Course Highlights:

Course Name	Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
Course Duration	3 Years
Course Level	Undergraduate
Course Fees	Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5,000 per annum
Eligibility Criteria	50% Marks in 12th (from Science stream with Biology as the main subject)
Annual Salary	INR 2-7 Lakhs per annum
Employment Fields	Hospitals, Nursing Home Facilities, Catering Departments (Starred Hotels), Health Department (Government), Restaurants.
Job Profiles	Dietitians, Food Quality Manager, Clinical Dietetics, Food Processing Manager, Nutrition Specialist
Admission Process	Merit-Based

Nutrition and Dietetics Colleges:

There are more than 300 colleges in India that offer Nutritionist and Dietitian courses. Some of them are given below:

• Symbiosis Skills and Professional University 
• IIT Bombay - Indian Institute of Technology. Mumbai, Maharashtra
• YMCA, New Delhi
• IGNOU - Indira Gandhi National Open University
• Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi
• Chandigarh University 
• Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and ResearchMaharashtra University of Health Sciences
• Jain University Bangalore
• Amity University, Gurugram. Gurgaon
• BFIT Group of Institutions. Dehradun
• IGNOU Ahmedabad Regional Centre. Ahmedabad
• SNDT Women's University, Churchgate Mumbai
• NIMAS
• Chandigarh Group of Colleges (CGC)
• Lovely Professional University, New Delhi
• Jamia Hamdard University, University of Delhi
• Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi
• Padmashree Institute of Management Studies, Bangalore
• Mount Carmel College, Bangalore
• Women’s Christian College Chennai
• All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Nirmala Niketan Mumba
• Queen Mary’s College, Tamil Nadu
• Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for Women
• Andhra University, Andhra Pradesh
• Shoolini University, Himachal Pradesh
• Manipal Academy of Higher Education - [MAHE] Manipal, Karnataka

M.Sc in Nutrition and Dietetics After Completing B.Sc:

After completing B.Sc courses in nutrition and dietetics, M.Sc in Nutrition and Dietetics is a highly recommended course. It is a 2-year full-time postgraduate course, it helps you to gain extensive knowledge and skills through nutrition and dietetics research and provides an overview of the subjects like Food Microbiology, Food preservation, Food Science, sports nutrition, and nutrition support.

The total course fee varies from Rs 25,000 to Rs 4,00,000 per annum. You can take admission in renowned colleges based on your GATE Entrance score or aggregate marks in Bachelors degree in Nutrition, Home Science, Food Science/Technology, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Medicine, Dental Sciences, Sports Science, Biochemistry, Physiology, Microbiology, Agriculture and Life Sciences or equivalent examinations.