Nutrition that Pays: Boost Your Salary While Doing What You Love as a Registered Dietitian or Nutrition Professional
By Tangela Kindell, MS, Diversify Dietetic Intern
Being a registered dietitian (RD) is a very fulfilling career, but let’s be real — many dietitians are concerned about how to earn a living wage without burning out or giving up the work they love. Whether you're looking to make a career shift, start a successful side venture, or negotiate your salary with ease, this guide will give you actionable, real-world tips to increase your income as an expert in nutrition and dietetics.
1. Find Your Niche & Monetize Your Expertise
Finding your niche in a specific area of nutrition can help you stand out and make you more appealing for work opportunities or promotions. Consider these in-demand niches:
Weight-inclusive, Health at Every Size (HAES) & intuitive eating strategies
Gut health & digestive disorders
PCOS, fertility, & women's health
Pediatrics & family nutrition
Sports nutrition
And more
Once you've determined your niche, monetize it by:
Freelance writing: Many health websites, magazines, and other media outlets pay RDs for professional articles.
Digital Products: Create digital products like courses, e-books, guides, templates, or toolkits on a nutrition topic you're passionate about.
Speaking engagements & webinars: whether remote or in-person, companies, organizations, and media outlets with an interest in nutrition and wellness will pay for you to speak about nutrition and share your expertise.
2. Start a Side Hustle
Contracts, freelance, moonlighting, and other part-time work (“side hustles”) allow you to build additional income streams without giving up your full-time job. Many can be a lucrative source of additional income or can cultivate the experience you need to make a career shift. Some of the most popular side hustles include:
Private practice: Working with a private practice to provide telehealth nutrition counseling allows you to work with clients according to your schedule. Many practices even offer night and weekend hours.
Brand partnerships & sponsorships: Work with food and wellness brands as a consultant, ambassador, or content creator.
Affiliate marketing: Earn commissions by selling products you love (think supplements, meal plans, food products, or kitchen tools).
Meal planning services: Design and sell personalized meal plans on sites like That Clean Life or EatLove.
Corporate wellness programs: Offer nutrition workshops or consulting services to businesses that desire to improve employee health and wellness.
3. Negotiate Your Salary with Confidence
Most nutrition professionals are underpaid simply because they don't negotiate! The lack of salary transparency within the field of nutrition and dietetics can make the job of advocating for your fair and appropriate pay even harder. Here's how to make sure you're making what you're worth:
Know Your Worth: Look up salary benchmarks for RDs in your region and specialty on sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed, and professional RD organizations. In fact, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers members access to an interactive salary calculator and a Compensation & Benefits Survey of the Dietetics Profession.
Highlight Your Value: When negotiating, highlight how your skills add value to the company, whether through patient outcomes, program development, or cost-saving measures. You can keep a “job journal” throughout your employment to keep track of your wins, impact, and overall positive performance.
Negotiate For More Than You Require: Employers would rather bargain downward, so bid higher than your minimum pay requirement.
Consider Benefits & Perks: In case your employer cannot accommodate your salary request, ask for additional perks like a flexible work schedule, payment for continuing education, or performance-based bonuses.
4. Enhance Your Credentials & Skills
Did you know that board certification in a specialty area can increase the salary of registered dietitians by approximately $3 a day or over $6,000 a year? Whether you continue your education in a specialty area or enhance the skills you already have, increasing your skills and credentials can make you a more attractive candidate in the job market. Consider:
Getting certified within specialist fields. Research information on the CDCES and available board-certified specialties for nutrition professionals to find the certification that works best for you.
Developing your business & marketing skills to build an online reputation
Taking courses in motivational interviewing, intuitive eating (IE), or nutrition coaching to enhance client relationships
5. Think Beyond Traditional RD Careers
Traditional clinical or community careers are not the only profitable career options for dietitians. Other high-paying career opportunities include:
Nutrition consultant services for food businesses or start-ups
Tech & digital health professions
Product development, food photography, & recipe development
Media & content creation (social media, blogging, podcasting)
And much more
With the right approach, making more as a registered dietitian or other nutrition professional is entirely within your grasp. You might negotiate your salary, start a second business, or explore additional markets. The idea is to leverage your expertise in ways that align with your strengths and passions. You are your own best resource— invest in yourself, think outside the box, and watch your earnings grow for years to come!