Nutrition Grads of 2014: Be Patient, Be Positive, Be Proud

Two years ago I graduated with a BS in Nutrition.  Although graduation weekend was a celebratory time, I couldn't help feeling extremely panicked about my future.  While my family showered me with praise and presents, I didn't feel deserving of it at all.  I wanted to become a Registered Dietitian. However, I did not have the experience to get into a internship in the state I lived in and didn't have the funds to move out of state to attend one immediately after graduating. I couldn't help but feel extremely jealous of my classmates who already had jobs lined up in other fields. Here I was moving back home with no idea what to do with my new degree. So I stayed in my college town (soaking up my denial of entering the "real world") quite literally up until the minute the lease ran out on the apartment I shared.

Upon moving home, I worked as a nanny.  I had plans to take the DTR test and look for jobs that required a nutrition degree without an RD credential.  Looking for jobs online turned up ZERO interviews.  I felt hopeless, worthless, and even more panicked about my future.  I worried about everything, lost sleep, and was anything but happy or confident in my abilities.  Looking back I wish I could tell myself to hold off on the pity party.  It is ok (not ideal but still ok) to be unsure of the future. It is ok because as long as you're actively doing something about it, it will eventually work itself out.  Here's proof:

After giving up on online search engines, I cold called every hospital in the Orange County and Long Beach area looking for diet technician, diet aide, and diet clerk jobs.   I got two interviews at the two hospitals closest to my house. Then got job offers from both. Nearly two years later I work as clinical dietitian at the very hospital I accepted a job at as a lost college graduate.

I know it's been awhile since I diligently blogged, but I have gotten several emails over the last year from young graduates  about finding their place in the gap between degree and RD.  I plan on sharing more about tips and stories about this gap-studying for the DTR test, what kind of jobs to look for and where to look, applying to internships, etc.  For now I want to share this: if you can relate at all to how I felt after graduation, stop immediately.  Be patient.  Be positive.  Believe in your abilities and your dreams.  You just finished at least four years of school so be proud.  

Everyone's journey to RD is different; some are longer than others. Don't focus on the time it takes to get there.  Focus on how you get there.  It may take longer, but that also means more time on the journey to gain experience and build relationships with others in the field.  I know for a fact I would not be where I am today without the journey I took from degree to RD.