Explore career options in nutrition and dietetics
Here you can find information on the types of careers and employment roles a nutrition and dietetics degree may land you.
You can also discover where to look for job vacancies, as well as professional associations, mentoring and international opportunities.
Opportunities
Dietitians are responsible for assessing the nutritional needs of patients, planning appropriate diets and educating patients and their families, and aim to improve the overall health of individuals, groups, the community and the population. Students in this degree develop skills in anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry before doing advanced study in human nutrition and completing a 20-week industry placement in the final year.
Career fields
- Hospitals—public and private
- Consultancy
- Private practice
- Community nutrition and public health
- Health planning and nutritional standards
- Nutrition policy
- Research
- Food safety and quality
- Management of food services in hospitals
- Food regulatory settings
- Preventative health programs
- Food product development
- Health promotion
- Nutrition education
- Program management
- Health and fitness industry
- Indigenous nutrition and health
- Catering companies
- Nursing homes
Employment roles
- Dietitian
- Graduate dietitian
- Health promotion officer
- Research dietitian
- Clinical dietitian
- Health lifestyle coordinator
- Hospital dietitian
- Private practice dietitian
- Locum dietitian
Occupation snapshot
Employed
5,400
Future demand
Strong
Weekly earnings
$1,123
Part-time share
51%
This data is based on the occupation profile for dietitians retrieved from the Government's Jobs and Skills Australia website and the YourCareer website July 2024.
Your employability
In addition to knowledge and skills directly related to your program of study, you will also develop a range of other skills such as teamwork, analytical, communication through academic study, employment, voluntary work, sporting and recreational activities and life experience.
Recognising the value employers place on these skills is an important factor in your graduate job search. You can further develop your employability with these resources:
Vacancies
Information on relevant vacancies and career resources can be found in a wide range of sources:
- CareerHub
- Adzuna Dietitian Jobs
- Australian Defence Force Recruiting
- Australian Job Search
- Ethical Jobs
- New South Wales Government jobs
- Queensland Health vacancies
- Queensland Government Graduate Portal
- Research Jobs (vacancies in Australia and New Zealand)
- Seek
- TechStaff
- MyHealthCareer—Dietetics
Job application resources
Craft a stand-out resume and cover letter, and learn how to prepare for job interviews.
Approach potential employers
Many work opportunities are not advertised, so we recommend approaching potential employers with the aim of researching their needs and how your skills, experience, interests and qualifications could match theirs.
This is called informational interviewing and will benefit you by:
- clarifying your specific career direction
- enhancing your professional network
- increasing your chances of being offered a job.
Industry outlook
The Your Career website includes helpful information such as job descriptions, employment prospects, average weekly earnings and skills requirements. Every job title in the database has a skills section to help you identify and describe essential skills for your future career.
The My Future website also has job descriptions and a useful career insight section.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching website has up-to-date information on graduate salaries, especially the Graduate Outlook Survey (GOS) National Report, which contains undergraduate salary figures.
More detailed information is available at the Labour Market Insights portal.
Career spotlight: Sharnie Dwyer
Griffith nutrition and dietetics graduate Sharnie Dwyer specialises in women’s health nutrition, which covers topics such as: optimising dietary intake for management of symptoms associated with endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, fertility and gastrointestinal conditions; dietary modification for the management of cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, anaemia and other nutritional deficiencies.
“Women’s health was never really a field of work that dietitians think to go into. It was really my passion for women’s health and my own health journey that led me down this path,” Sharnie says.
Professional associations
Joining a professional association is a great way to interact with people in your field who can assist you to explore your career options and potentially find employment opportunities. These associations hold regular professional development and networking events:
- Dietitians Association of Australia
- Nutrition Society of Australia
- Public Health Association of Australia
Students are welcome to join and often receive a discount on their membership.
Mentoring
The award-winning Industry Mentoring Program provides an excellent opportunity to further develop your employability and build professional networks.
The program is available to students with more than 80CP as well as recent graduates.
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) and is committed to promoting decent work and economic growth, advancing the principles of responsible and sustainable consumption and production, and advocating for peace, justice, and resilient institutional frameworks.
Further careers information
Careers counselling
Individual career counselling sessions are available to all current students and recent graduates.
You can book an initial appointment via CareerHub.
Career planning
Our website has an array of career planning resources you can explore at any stage of your student journey.
Career Readiness
Check out our Career Readiness site in Learning@Griffith for additional information and resources for your career development learning:
Similar career options
Please note: The content on this webpage is a guide only. Please refer to degree-specific information and accreditation requirements of your profession on the Degree and Course Finder website and with the relevant professional accreditation body for your degree.