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Nutritional therapist

Nutritional therapists help people by giving advice on diet, nutrition and lifestyle.

Annual Salary

variable

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 42 variable

You could work: freelance / self-employed; managing your own hours

4%
Future employment

There will be 4% more Nutritional therapist jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a nutritional therapist, you could:

  • talk to clients about their diet, health and lifestyle
  • carry out tests
  • discuss test results and agree on a treatment plan
  • monitor a client's progress
  • refer clients on to other healthcare services when necessary

Working environment

You could work at a client's home, at a GP practice or in a therapy clinic.

You can get into this job through a university course.

University

You'll improve your employment prospects if you get a qualification that is recognised by one of the professional organisations for nutritional therapy.

The Nutritional Therapy Education Commission accredits courses in nutritional therapy at undergraduate degree, postgraduate diploma and master's level.

When choosing a course, make sure that you:

  • understand if the course is online, face-to face or a mix of the two
  • find out how much clinical experience you’ll get on the course
  • check your course has a good reputation

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
For more information

More information

Career tips

Many nutritional therapists are self-employed.

When you start, you might need to work longer hours to get more clients and build up your reputation.

You may find it useful to train in related types of therapy to increase the number of clients that you see.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in nutritional therapy from the:British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine; Naturopathic Nutrition Association; Association of Naturopathic Practitioners

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Once you are established, you could:specialise in working with people with specific medical conditions like arthritis or chronic fatigue; expand your business to offer other therapy services; move into teaching, write about nutritional therapy or do research

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • active listening skills
  • customer service skills
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • knowledge of biology
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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