Dietetic Technician Salary

What is a Dietetic Technician

A dietetic technician (also known as Dietetic Tech, or simply Dietetic) is someone who works as part of a team to counsel patients in proper dietary practices. They work to recommend proper nutrition, creating diet charts to aid people suffering high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity. They often assist nutritionists and dietitians, and aid during nutritional events in hospitals. To find out more information regarding dietetic technician, please visit our dietetic technician job description page.

Work Environment

Dietetic technicians are usually employed by organizations that feed a large number of people, particularly those that have specific dietary requirements. This can include hospitals, nursing homes, schools, prisons, and other large facilities.

Some do work in private practices, developing diets for individual patients as part of a treatment plan. Some focus on the educative side, helping patients (particularly children) understand proper health and nutrition.

Work in institutional kitchens can be hot, and require many hours on their feet. Cooking-related injuries are common, such as minor cuts and burns, though these are rarely serious. However, a great deal of ingenuity and creativity is needed, to make a diet both healthy and tasty for a patient.

Work Schedule

A dietetic technician’s work schedule is dependent on the area of work they are involved in. Those involved directly with food preparation will work mostly daytime hours, though not necessarily common business hours (eg they may work 7-3, or 11-7). In addition, they will often work weekends and holidays; many are employed on a part-time basis.

Those working privately or on the educative side can expect more regular hours, again dependent on the institution in which they work.

Mean Annual Dietetic Technician Salary

The average annual salary of a dietetic technician is $28,580. The mean salary is calculated by adding all the wages within the occupation and divid that value by the total number of employees. Lowest 10% of this occupation makes less than $17,960 and the top 10% makes over $43,960.

Dietetic Technician Salary: Quick Summary

2013 Mean Salary	$28,580 per year $13.74 per hour
Top 10% Salary	$43,960 per year $21.14 per hour
Bottom 10% Salary	$17,960 per year $8.63 per hour
Number of Jobs, 2013	26,420

Dietetic Technician Job Outlook and Prospects

The job outlook is promising for dietetic technicians, with growth expected to be faster than the national average, and on par with many medical positions. With an aging population and increased concern and attention on dietary habits, demand for nutritional education and planning is likely to rise steeply.

Dietetic Technician Salary: Factors of Influence

The main factors affecting dietetic technician salary are those that commonly affect medical professionals, namely experience, type of practice, and their geographic location. They can also specialize, aiding in increasing dietetic technician salary.

The average dietetic technician salary in the United States is $28,580 per year, however this can vary between $21,000 and $47,000, depending on the aforementioned factors.

Education and Specialization 

Specialization is the one of the main means of improving dietetic technician salary, more so than education. While education can aid in specialization, it is not required, as there are few regulatory requirements for dietetic techs.

A focus on specific health issues (such as diabetes or obesity) can aid in increasing demand for the dietetic technician. Other areas, particularly geriatric health, are expected to grow in demand in the coming years.

Experience and Position 

Experience will greatly impact dietetic technician salary, particularly within a large organization. Greater experience and familiarity with the work involved will bring a larger understanding of the needs of the work, and will bring commensurate salary growth.

Position is less likely to bring salary improvements; while occasionally a dietetic technician may head a team of peers, generally an organization will employ dietetic techs under the auspices of a nutritionist or a dietitian, who will act as the head of the department. While this will vary within the organization, dietetic technicians will generally require further training and experience in order to rise in a hierarchy.

Industry 

The industry chosen can impact dietetic technician salary. While many aspects of the industry hover close to the national average, some can show improvements of nearly $6,000. On the other side, working in a nursing care or retirement facility has an average salary of only around $25,000.

The best side of the industry for dietetic technician salary is working in an outpatient care center. While only approximately 300 are so currently employed, the average salary is $34,880. Those working for state or local governments follow on the salary scale, averaging $33,870 and $33,190, respectively.

Location

Location is the primary factor affecting dietetic technician salary, offering the best focus for those seeking remunerative gains. However, those areas with better salaries tend also to have a higher cost of living.

Missouri, as a state, bucks this trend, offering the best yearly salary of $42,310; St. Louis accounts for much of this, with the annual salary in this metropolitan area a healthy $47,190. The state of New York has the second highest state salary, at $37,880, and the District of Columbia ranks third at $37,180.

Dietetic Technician Salary: Top 5

Top Paying Metropolitan Areas	Top Paying States	Top Paying Industries	States with Highest Employment Level
St. Louis, MO: $47,190	Missouri: $42,310	Outpatient Care Centers: $34,880	California: (2,750 jobs) $33,990
New Haven, CT: $42,940	New York: $37,880	State Government: $33,870	Illinois: (2,000 jobs) $25,480
West Palm Beach, FL: $41,760	District of Columbia: $37,180	Local Government: $33,190	Michigan: (1,690 jobs) $27,540
San Jose, CA: $41,220	Ohio: $36,670	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals: $32,970	Massachusetts: (1,470 jobs) $27,680
San Francisco, CA: $41,120	Alaska: $36,630	Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools: $32,790	Texas: (1,180 jobs) $29,060