Dietitians/Nutritionists
Job description
These individuals guide people in their food choices according to the principles of nutrition. They also promote healthy eating habits. They help individuals maintain, restore, and improve their health and nutritional status. They analyze lifestyle and eating habits to establish an intervention plan that takes into account a person’s needs, abilities, and objectives. They plan and supervise nutrition programs for individuals, communities, and populations. They intervene in various sectors (clinical nutrition, public health, research, etc.). They are self-employed or work for:
- Hospitals
- Home health care agencies
- Long-term care facilities
- Community health centres
- Food and pharmaceutical industries
- Universities and research chairs
- Governmental sport and non-profit organizations
- School boards
- Medical associations
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
Main tasks
- Evaluate new products to improve or promote them.
- Create healthy, balanced meal plans.
- Participate in health care in an interdisciplinary team setting.
- Take part in the development, testing, evaluation, and marketing of food products.
- Plan and coordinate nutrition research programs.
- Draft documents on healthy eating habits.
- Perform certain authorized activities, such as:
- Permanently remove a feeding tube.
- Administer medication or other substances, orally or enterally.
- Order laboratory analyses.
- Adjust insulin and diabetes medications.
- Prescribe nutritional formulas, micronutrients, macronutrients, and a pancreatic enzyme solution.
- Perform certain reserved activities such as:
- Monitor the health status of individuals following a nutritional treatment plan.
- Determine the appropriate nutritional treatment plan for individuals who have received a prescription.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience leads to management positions.
- These people can specialize in various fields:
- Clinical nutrition
- Public health nutrition
- Management of food services
- Nutrition in food and biopharmaceuticals
- Research and teaching
- Communication
- These individuals may specialize in a variety of medical practices:
- Geriatrics
- Pediatrics
- Oncology
- Nephrology
- Cardiology
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.- Minimum
- $32.34
- Median
- $43.00
- Maximum
- $50.00
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
Very good
All of Québec
Non available
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
2,500
All of Québec
na
Gender distribution
All of Québec
Not available.
- 96.6% Female
- 3.4% Male
Not available.
- 96.6% Female
- 3.4% Male
Job types
All of Québec
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
$69,500
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62386% of jobs
-
NAICS 812% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 452% of jobs
-
NAICS 5416, 54172% of jobs
-
NAICS 612% of jobs
-
Others6% of jobs
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62386% of jobs
-
NAICS 812% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 452% of jobs
-
NAICS 5416, 54172% of jobs
-
NAICS 612% of jobs
-
Others6% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Dietetics and nutrition
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 69.5%
27.6% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 81%
19% of graduates pursue further studies
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
Also required
- Membership in the Ordre des diététistes-nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ [Quebec Order of Professional Dietitian-Nutritionists]) to hold the titles of dietitian, dietitian-nutritionist, and nutritionist.
- Licence to practise issued by the ODNQ.
Sometimes required
- A Class 5 driver’s licence and vehicle may be required for home responders.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Science
- Active listening
- Judgment and decision-making
- Critical thought
- Reading comprehension
- Oral expression
- Information processing
- Solving complex problems
- Written expression
- Coordination
- Result evaluation
- Persuasion
- Social perception
- Service oriented
- Quality control analysis
- System analysis
- Operation analysis
- Active learning
- Mathematics
- Systems evaluation
- Time management
- Learning strategies
- Negotiation
- Human resource management
- Teaching
- Material resource management
Abilities
- Information organization
- Awareness of issues
- Verbal skills
- Deductive reasoning
- Speech clarity
- Written comprehension
- Classification
- Oral comprehension
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech recognition
- Written expression
- Near vision
- Idea generation
- Basic numeracy
- Selective attention
- Memorization
- Mathematical reasoning
- Visualization
- Perception speed
- Auditory attention
- Hearing sensitivity
- Originality
- Processing flexibility
- Information processing speed
- Manual dexterity
- Depth perception
- Time sharing
- Control accuracy
Knowledge and attributes
- Autonomy
- Capacity to influence and mobilize
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Knowledge of customer and personalized services
- Commitment
- Versatility
- Sense of initiative
- Vitality
- Creativity
- Pedagogical knowledge
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Watch, defend, and secure
- Work with numbers
- Create, design
- Carry out research
- Self-employment
- Assist and advise
- Collect, verify, sort, and classify data or information
- Conduct tests and trials, control processes
- Teach or educate
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
Official name of the NOC 31121
Dietitians and nutritionists
Job titles
Skill type
Health
Related occupations
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Last update: January 29, 2026
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