Dietitians and nutritionists
SOC Code: 29-1031
Dietitians and nutritionists carries a 23% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $73,850 and +5.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 90,900 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 23% AI exposure, Dietitians and nutritionists sits 14 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 9% of them. It ranks among the more AI-resilient roles in the dataset.
Career outlook score
79/100
Dietitians and nutritionists, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B $73,850
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth B+ +5.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) A+ 23% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Dietitians and nutritionists in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Dietitians and nutritionists shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Average (378 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Dietitians and nutritionists sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Dietitians and nutritionists sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
23% Among the lowest lower than 91% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Dietitians and nutritionists vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Dietitians and nutritionists is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Dietitians and nutritionists's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 29-1031) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Dietitians and nutritionists be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Dietitians and nutritionists. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Assess nutritional needs, diet restrictions, and current health plans to develop and implement dietary-care plans and provide nutritional counseling.
- 2. Evaluate laboratory tests in preparing nutrition recommendations.
- 3. Counsel individuals and groups on basic rules of good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and nutrition monitoring to improve their quality of life.
- 4. Advise patients and their families on nutritional principles, dietary plans, diet modifications, and food selection and preparation.
- 5. Incorporate patient cultural, ethnic, or religious preferences and needs in the development of nutrition plans.
- 6. Consult with physicians and health care personnel to determine nutritional needs and diet restrictions of patient or client.
- 7. Record and evaluate patient and family health and food history, including symptoms, environmental toxic exposure, allergies, medication factors, and preventive health-care measures.
- 8. Develop recipes and menus to address special nutrition needs, such as low glycemic, low histamine, or gluten- or allergen-free.
- 9. Coordinate diet counseling services.
- 10. Select, train, and supervise workers who plan, prepare, and serve meals.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Service Orientation
- Complex Problem Solving
Knowledge Areas
- Biology
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Therapy and Counseling
- Customer and Personal Service
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Chemistry
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Dietitians and nutritionists?
Dietitians and nutritionists has an AI exposure score of 23%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Dietitians and nutritionists?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Dietitians and nutritionists is projected to grow by 5.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 90,900 workers.
What skills are needed for Dietitians and nutritionists?
Key skills for Dietitians and nutritionists include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Dietitians and nutritionists earn?
The median annual wage for Dietitians and nutritionists is $73,850, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Dietitians and nutritionists?
The typical entry-level education for Dietitians and nutritionists is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Internship/residency. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Dietitians and nutritionists?
Dietitians and nutritionists roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Dietitians and nutritionists: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (23% here).
- Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists · AI exposure 23%
- Home appliance repairers · AI exposure 23%
- Psychiatric technicians · AI exposure 23%
- Respiratory therapists · AI exposure 23%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+5.5% here).
- Athletes and sports competitors · growth +5.5%
- Cooks, all other · growth +5.5%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay · growth +5.5%
- Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers · growth +5.5%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 45 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Dietitians and nutritionists' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Dietitians and nutritionists side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).