Dietetic Technicians
Also called: Diet Tech (Dietetic Technician), Diet Technician Registered (DTR), Dietary Aide, Nutrition TechnicianAssist in the provision of food service and nutritional programs, under the supervision of a dietitian. May plan and produce meals based on established guidelines, teach principles of food and nutrition, or counsel individuals.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 10 of its 13 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 2.7% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.3% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Dietetic technicians and ophthalmic medical technicians”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 86% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $45,970 | $40,790 to $49,500 | 370 |
| Arkansas | $31,900 | $29,160 to $34,160 | 210 |
| California | $46,410 | $38,340 to $52,270 | 6,310 |
| Colorado | $47,810 | $40,760 to $51,060 | 230 |
| Connecticut | $42,040 | $38,530 to $46,250 | 330 |
| Delaware | $41,280 | $38,700 to $48,130 | 150 |
| District of Columbia | $40,810 | $38,770 to $47,820 | 190 |
| Florida | $34,740 | $33,280 to $37,120 | 2,420 |
| Georgia | $34,240 | $27,150 to $44,030 | 490 |
| Hawaii | $43,580 | $35,340 to $49,790 | 130 |
| Idaho | $32,620 | $29,530 to $41,140 | 170 |
| Illinois | $42,550 | $36,950 to $45,860 | 590 |
| Indiana | $31,660 | $28,370 to $35,600 | 690 |
| Iowa | $35,220 | $30,360 to $38,230 | 350 |
| Kansas | $35,060 | $33,870 to $36,650 | 140 |
| Kentucky | $28,970 | $24,350 to $31,590 | 430 |
| Louisiana | $28,860 | $25,530 to $31,200 | 190 |
| Maine | $42,320 | $40,820 to $43,870 | 40 |
| Maryland | $33,710 | $33,120 to $36,260 | 1,670 |
| Massachusetts | $39,760 | $38,350 to $47,140 | 910 |
| Michigan | $36,420 | $33,310 to $38,330 | 3,060 |
| Minnesota | $47,610 | $44,940 to $58,360 | 170 |
| Mississippi | $28,690 | $23,950 to $35,740 | 120 |
| Missouri | $36,100 | $32,360 to $38,390 | 290 |
| Montana | $40,040 | $40,040 to $47,790 | 100 |
| Nebraska | $37,760 | $36,170 to $40,470 | 100 |
| Nevada | $37,630 | $34,730 to $42,520 | 370 |
| New Hampshire | $41,830 | $35,820 to $48,340 | 230 |
| New Jersey | $40,530 | $38,170 to $48,200 | 400 |
| New Mexico | $37,580 | $35,820 to $40,530 | 100 |
| New York | $50,420 | $38,900 to $60,980 | 1,580 |
| North Carolina | $31,010 | $28,140 to $37,170 | 1,300 |
| North Dakota | $35,890 | $28,110 to $37,390 | 90 |
| Ohio | $41,380 | $36,560 to $51,740 | 660 |
| Oklahoma | $38,840 | $34,360 to $42,990 | 130 |
| Oregon | $54,670 | $49,370 to $60,070 | 60 |
| Pennsylvania | $34,090 | $31,320 to $37,080 | 2,300 |
| Puerto Rico | $24,960 | $24,410 to $25,660 | not published |
| Rhode Island | $39,400 | $35,950 to $44,150 | 50 |
| South Carolina | $36,770 | $29,700 to $38,010 | 450 |
| Tennessee | not published | not published | 230 |
| Texas | $30,280 | $27,180 to $37,760 | 1,360 |
| Utah | $40,580 | $39,880 to $45,600 | 890 |
| Virginia | $38,790 | $34,970 to $43,010 | 460 |
| Washington | $47,000 | $45,310 to $56,090 | 290 |
| West Virginia | $35,210 | $29,430 to $35,780 | 260 |
| Wisconsin | $38,750 | $37,310 to $44,090 | 410 |
Nationally: $37,640. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 10 of its 13 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Supervise food production or service or assist dietitians or nutritionists in food service supervision or planning. | Not published |
| AI + software | Observe and monitor patient food intake and body weight, and report changes, progress, and dietary problems to dietician. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Conduct nutritional assessments of individuals, including obtaining and evaluating individuals' dietary histories, to plan nutritional programs. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Plan menus or diets or guide individuals or families in food selection, preparation, or menu planning, based upon nutritional needs and established guidelines. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare a major meal, following recipes and determining group food quantities. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop job specifications, job descriptions, or work schedules. | 0.01% |
See all 13 tasks
| AI + software | Attend interdisciplinary meetings with other health care professionals to discuss patient care. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide dietitians with assistance researching food, nutrition, or food service systems. | Not published |
| AI + software | Analyze menus or recipes, standardize recipes, or test new products. | Not published |
| Not much | Select, schedule, or conduct orientation or in-service education programs. | Not published |
| AI alone | Refer patients to other relevant services to provide continuity of care. | Not published |
| Not much | Determine food and beverage costs and assist in implementing cost control procedures. | Not published |
| AI + software | Deliver speeches on diet, nutrition, or health to promote healthy eating habits and illness prevention and treatment. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 13 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 13 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #5 Provide information or assistance to the public
- #24 Assist others to access additional services or resources
- #26 Research healthcare issues
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Provide information or assistance to the public | |||
| Assist others to access additional services or resources | |||
| Research healthcare issues | |||
| Determine resource needs of projects or operations | |||
| Analyze health or medical data | |||
| Advise patients or clients on medical issues |
Show all 15 activities
| Estimate project development or operational costs | |||
| Monitor health conditions of humans or animals | |||
| Develop organizational or program goals or objectives | |||
| Collect information about patients or clients | |||
| Evaluate patient or client condition or treatment options | |||
| Supervise personnel activities | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A recipe or meal plan56%
- A document or report11%
- Advice or a recommendation9%
- A plan or strategy6%
- Data or a spreadsheet5%
How they worked with Claude
10% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for dietetic technicians specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 5,785 moves out
- 1 Dietitians and Nutritionists Very high +7.7% 7%
- 2 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 6%
- 3 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 5%
- 4 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 5%
- 5 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 4,892 moves in
- 1 Dietitians and Nutritionists Very high +7.7% 7%
- 2 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 7%
- 3 Food Service Managers Moderate +5.8% 5%
- 4 Fast Food and Counter Workers Moderate +5.8% 5%
- 5 Cashiers High -6.5% 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 10% less than high school
- 8% high school
- 27% postsecondary certificate
- 15% some college
- 35% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 17 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 17% less than high school
- 43% high school
- 20% some college
- 7% associate's
- 9% bachelor's
- 3% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Dietetic technicians and ophthalmic medical technicians” · 861 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Dietetic technicians and ophthalmic medical technicians”
5 programs, such as Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies, General, Nutrition Sciences and Dietetics/Dietitian.
See all
- Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies, General
- Nutrition Sciences
- Dietetics/Dietitian
- Dietetic Technician
- Dietitian Assistant
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Certified Dietary Manager). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Dietetic Technicians” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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