If you’re wondering how to become a dietician or dietary cook you should know that there are many different paths you can pursue in this career field. If you are interested in food and nutrition, and you want to help make people’s lives better, this could just be the right path for you to take. You will need to get a bachelor’s degree, become an expert in nutrition, diet and various illnesses, diseases and disorders. You will learn how to prevent or treat illness or disease with a combination of the right foods and an active lifestyle. You may pursue jobs in day care centers, healthcare facilities, private companies, nursing homes, media outlets, prisons, schools and universities. So how do you get started?

The first step to becoming a dietician or dietary cook is getting the degree. There are 235 bachelor’s degree programs in dietetics, food, food service systems management and/or nutrition that have been approved by the Commission on Accreditation and Approval for Dietetics Education, which is part of the American Dietetics Association. You can find programs in every state, and there is probably one established in a school near you. There are also online universities that offer these degrees. Many people know as early as high school that they want to pursue this career, so they take extra courses in biology, chemistry, health and math, but this isn’t required.

When choosing a degree program you should carefully study the schools and what their coursework is like. Find out what their faculty has done and what kind of supervised practical experience they offer students, and see what their graduates are doing. Your courses will include a great deal of biology, computer science, institutional management, math, microbiology, nutrition, psychology and sociology. You will need to have good writing skills to succeed in this career as well.

After getting a bachelor’s degree you will also need to pass the certification exam to become a registered dietician. Once you begin working in the field you can earn a high salary, with the average median salary in this field currently at about $52,000. As you can see, learning how to become a dietician or dietary cook is the first step to receiving the future rewards of having a worthwhile career helping people live healthier lives.

Institutions offering quality Culinary Arts Programs include The International Culinary Institute at the Art Institutes, Le Cordon Blue Schools, The French Culinary Institute, The Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales University.

Find the perfect Culinary School or Culinary Arts Program today and start your path to a rewarding career.