RD Jobs

Early on in Toni’s career as a dietitian, she came to a crossroad in her life. After moving back home when she was done with her internship, she realized that the “RD market” was saturated. She contemplated taking a “non-nutrition-related” job, but struggled a bit with the idea of doing something different after having worked so hard to become an RD. 

Listen to her in depth account of her journey to being a Behavioral Health Educator/Dietitian and how she handles the bumps along the way. 

Topics discussed during the podcast:

• Choosing between two career paths. 
• Honoring the nerves that pull you outside of your comfort zone, where so many new things are waiting for us.
• Imposter Syndrome  
• Being an ascend peer reviewer
• Being a CDR faculty member
• Acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses as an RD. 
• How she decided that this opportunity was where she wanted to be versus the job that she was enjoying.
•  Declined job offers
• Virtual speaking 

Toni's Links:
Thepathpod.com

Email address
[email protected]

Check out the Episode Blog at
www.RDJobsPodcast.com

Mary Purdy started off her career strong by already having her practice before she even finished her dietetic internship. Having helped cover for a clinical position part-time, she knew that the clinical setting wasn’t for her. She took the time to create a newsletter telling friends and family what she did and how she could help them. Along with her private practice and being an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Mary started doing freelance work as a speaker.
 
She soon realized how to set professional boundaries for herself and ensure that her speaking engagements were mutually beneficial. While working at a telehealth company, she continued to realize her passion for environmental nutrition and how important it was to the field. Like many dietitians, Mary likes to have her hands in several different projects at once and considers her career to be a bunch of freelance gigs and side projects. 

Topics Covered During Podcast

• The insecurity and power of having your own business...reword
• The highs and lows of having your own business. 
• Students who want their private practice before they are an RD.
• Creating a newsletter to build her community while she was in school.
• Working for free and knowing your worth. 
• Examples of why you wouldn't charge for a HUGE talk. 
• RD in the role of sustainability and the food system. 
• Approaching food from an environmental perspective. 
• How to be more involved, how to learn, about sustainability. 
• Does this field require certifications? 
• Introverts AND extroverts can thrive as a freelancer. 
• Compensation as a freelancer. 
• How to know/gauge how much to charge for your services.
• How to manage expectations for what you’ll be paid for engagements/freelance gigs. 
• How to negotiate pay for engagements. 
• How she manages all the thoughts that come song with being an entrepreneur. 
• How to figure out when you need a break/downtime.

Mary's Links:

Website - Marypurdy.co

Sustainability Resources - www.marypurdy.co/resources/#freedownloads

Mary’s podcast - TheNutritionShow

LinkedIn - Mary Purdy

FB - Mary Purdy 

IG - @MaryPurdyRD

Environmental Nutrition DPG - www.hendpg.org

PLANETARY HEALTH COLLECTIVE - www.planetaryhealthcollective.org
Facebook Group - Planetary Health Collective
Instagram - @PlanetaryHealthCollective

Tim Dileo completed an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and a Nutrition degree with his graduate coordinated program. After taking a sports nutrition class, he knew that this was where he wanted to be. Tim took the initiative to reach out to the University of North Carolina and ask them if they had any intern positions. They offered him an unpaid summer internship that eventually led into a year-long paid position when the summer was over. 

Next on his journey was a position at Baylor University. He came on as the football RD. Through fortunate circumstances, he ended up being promoted six weeks later as the Director of Sports Nutrition where he continued for the next three years. Though he felt like he was initially thrown into the position, the support from his colleagues helped him through. After another job change and the desire to move closer to home, Tim reached out to a training facility in Boston Massachusetts and asked if they would be interested in letting him develop the nutrition program from the ground up. The facility recognized the need and importance of having a nutrition program and partnered with Tim who is now the Director of Performance Nutrition. 

Topics Covered During Podcast 

• Creating a position for yourself. 
• Unseen Opportunities. 
• The sports year goes by fast in sports. Always trying to play catch up.
• What the everyday job looks like for a director of nutrition.
• How different programs encompass different priorities. 
• Sports nutrition includes all three domains. 
• Details on how each domain can play a role in the department. 
• Not a typical 9-5 job especially during the season for your sport.
• Lots of traveling 
• Salary vs hourly 
• Building a nutrition program from the ground up. 
• Training athletes on not only the physical side of things but the mental conditioning as well. 
• Created a position for himself because he saw the need. 
• Importance of RD’s in sports. 
• Compensation for sports dietitians.
• Turnover in the field. 
• Things you should consider before entering the sports nutrition field/ 
• Work-life balance with a lot of hours and travel. 
• Programs to help students interested in sports nutrition. 

Tim Dileo’s Links:

CPSDA - college professional sport dietetics association - www.sportsrd.org

SNEP program - for students - www.sportsrd.org/career-development/gatorade-internships

Email - [email protected]

Tracy Brown accepted a position in dialysis as her first job as a dietitian. Though she had the entrepreneurial bug, she wanted to give herself time to grow as a professional while she figured out exactly what it was that she wanted to do. 

Having realized during school that counseling was something that she was good at, she started to focus on creating a practice of her own. After 2 years of continuing to develop her abilities, she knew it was time to move on and started looking for a new position. Through fortunate circumstances, she was hired into a private practice where she honed in her skills as a counselor and grew her knowledge on eating disorders and trauma. 

After 9 years of personal development and growing in confidence, she knew it was time to break out on her own. Her professional and respectful nine-month transition from her old job seamlessness led into her own private practice as a Trauma Integrated Somatic Nutrition Therapist.  

Tracy is an advocate for growing in your specialty and working on your skills. Her passion for the specialty shines bright during our conversation and conveys her hunger to help others just as she was helped on her own journey.

Be kind to yourself. You won’t know everything all at once.

Topics Covered During Podcast:

• Started off in dialysis.
• Knew she had the entrepreneurial bug. 
• How not getting hired right away was a blessing in disguise.   
• Comparing a profession in ED to dialysis. 
• ED isn’t anything to be scared of. 
• Still does weekly supervision to practice skills and work on her business. 
• Importance of continuing education. 
• How she knew she was ready to go off on her own and start her own practice.
• How she respectfully transitioned into her own business. 
• How do you start your own business. 
• How much money will it take to start?
• How to prioritize what you NEED to do to start. 
• What is Somatic trauma therapy?
• Behaviors and philosophies around food. 
• Dismantling diet culture. 
• Does she act as a preceptor?
• You have to have people that you are serving. 

Tracy's Links:

Email: [email protected] 

Website for professionals: EmbodiedDietetian.com  

Website for clients: TracyBrownRD.com 

 FB + IG: @TracyBrownRD

Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine

Kameron Rowe completed her internship in Rochester, NY. Though clinical wasn’t her passion/dream job she accepted a position during her rotations. Managing work, her internship, and studying for the RD exam, she learned how to set healthy boundaries for herself so that she could be successful. When the pandemic hit, she realized that life is too short to be unhappy and unfulfilled. After 7 months of interviewing, she found her dream job as a public health nutritionist with WIC. Not only does Kameron talk about her experience that got her job with WIC, but also breaks down the different nutrition-based positions, as well as her own position. Kameron and I also talk about her role as a mentor with Diversify dietetics, the sense of community it brought her, and what it can do for others.  

Topics covered during the podcast:

How to schedule a job while studying 

The amount of work an internship takes 

How to look for a job that interests you

Qualifications for getting a job at WIC

Her previous experience in school nutrition with National Lunch Program

Diversify Dietetics

Kameron’s Links:

Instagram:  @Kimmie2Dakam

LinkedIn: Kameron Rowe

Diversify Dietetics Links:

Website: www.diversifydietetics.org

Instagram: DiversifyDietetics

Moriah Dore' from The RD Jobs Podcast does the footwork so YOU can hear the in-depth stories of Registered Dietitians who have chosen their own unique path. Whether you are a student who is trying to learn more about their options or a nutrition professional who wants to change the path they are already on, this podcast is for you!