You can start exploring this type of work right in your own kitchen. Learn healthy ways to cook and bake. Plan and prepare meals for your family; do your own grocery shopping and learn to pick out the best produce, meats, fish, and other ingredients. And, in addition to taking family and consumer science classes at school, take cooking classes offered by other organizations in your community. Supermarkets, for example, frequently offer classes on topics such as how to prepare low cholesterol meals. Another option is to contact dietitians and ask them about their work. The school cafeteria, the local hospital, or a nursing home are all places to look for those who would be willing to participate in an information interview with you. And, of course, one of the best ways to learn about diet and nutrition is to get a job in a food-related business such as a restaurant or a hospital cafeteria. In such a setting, you will be able to observe and interact with dietitians as they work.

Clinical dietitians plan and supervise the preparation of diets designed for specific patients, and they work for such institutions as hospitals and retirement homes. In many cases, their patients cannot eat certain foods for medical reasons, such as diabetes or liver failure, and the dietitians must see that these patients receive nourishing meals. Clinical dietitians work closely with doctors, who advise them regarding the patients health and the foods that the patients cannot eat. It is often part of a clinical dietitians job to educate patients about nutritional principles.

Community dietitians usually work for clinics, government health programs, social service agencies, or similar organizations. They counsel individuals or advise the members of certain groups—such as the elderly, families, and pregnant women—regarding nutritional problems, proper eating, and sensible grocery shopping.

Although most dietitians do some kind of teaching in the course of their work, teaching dietitians specialize in education. They usually work for hospitals, and they may teach full time or part time. Sometimes teaching dietitians also perform other tasks, such as running a food-service operation, especially in small colleges. In larger institutions, however, those tasks are generally performed by different people. In some cases, teaching dietitians also perform research.

There are many kinds of consultant dietitians, who work for such organizations as schools, restaurants, grocery store chains, manufacturers of food-service equipment, pharmaceutical companies, and private companies of various kinds. Some of these organizations have home economics departments that need the services of dietitians. Some consultants spend much of their time advising individuals rather than organizations. One lucrative area for consultants is working with athletes and sports teams, helping to maximize athletes performance and extend the length of their careers.

Administrative dietitians, also known as management dietitians, combine management skills with people skills to organize and run large-scale food operations. They may work for food-service companies, oversee the cafeterias of large corporations, be employed by prisons, or work at long-term-care facilities—basically they work for any organization that provides food services to a large number of people. In addition to planning menus, these dietitians are responsible for such things as creating budgets, drawing up work policies, and enforcing institutional and government regulations related to safety and sanitation.

Research dietitians typically work for government agencies, universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and manufacturers, and they may specialize in any of a vast number of research subjects. They often work on improving existing food products or finding alternatives to foods that are unhealthy when eaten in substantial portions.