Greetings friends,
This is my first post but I feel that this will resonate with this subreddit.
I am in the process of becoming a Registered Dietitian (we are not nutritionists). In order to become a Registered Dietitian, one must complete a 4 year bachelor's degree of science in dietetics, go through a HIGHLY competitive matching program senior year that is similar to a medical residency matching program, get accepted into a dietetic internship that is 1,200 hours of unpaid labor and course work that YOU PAY FOR, and then after that they must sit for the exam and pass. In 2024, you will need a masters degree to sit for the exam plus the internship.
I was privileged enough to have help from my parents during my undergrad so I could focus on keeping a high GPA and volunteering hundreds of hours to make myself a competitive candidate. The students who have to put themselves through school financially can sometimes struggle to keep up their GPA and volunteer hours (making it more difficult to get matched).
The thing that has me so hot and bothered, is that the programs STRONGLY suggest that you do not work during the internship. In some programs, they ban you from working. We are expected to work 9 hour days, 5 days a week, all while completing course work and not getting paid, and pay our tuition.
No healthcare is offered in these programs, so I can only qualify for catastrophe insurance through marketplace and do not qualify for medicaid. I have a friend who is financially independent who is worried about how he is going to afford food and gas (we have to drive sometimes 2 hours a day to get back and forth to our rotations).
I love this field and helping people, but this is all for an average salary of probably 50k if I am lucky for my first job. I know I choose this pathway, but I just had to vent. I intend to become an advocate for change once I am a dietitian.