# Dietetic Technicians

> Assist 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.

- **SOC code:** 29-2051.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2051-00
- **Also known as:** Diet Tech (Dietetic Technician), Diet Technician Registered (DTR), Dietary Aide, Nutrition Technician, Cook Chill Technician (CCT), Diet Assistant, Diet Clerk, Diet Tech (Diet Technician)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Observe and monitor patient food intake and body weight, and report changes, progress, and dietary problems to dietician.
- Conduct nutritional assessments of individuals, including obtaining and evaluating individuals' dietary histories, to plan nutritional programs.
- Prepare a major meal, following recipes and determining group food quantities.
- Supervise food production or service or assist dietitians or nutritionists in food service supervision or planning.
- Plan menus or diets or guide individuals or families in food selection, preparation, or menu planning, based upon nutritional needs and established guidelines.
- Determine food and beverage costs and assist in implementing cost control procedures.
- Develop job specifications, job descriptions, or work schedules.
- Refer patients to other relevant services to provide continuity of care.
- Attend interdisciplinary meetings with other health care professionals to discuss patient care.
- Provide dietitians with assistance researching food, nutrition, or food service systems.
- Deliver speeches on diet, nutrition, or health to promote healthy eating habits and illness prevention and treatment.
- Select, schedule, or conduct orientation or in-service education programs.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Education and Training _(knowledge)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Public Safety and Security _(knowledge)_
- Administration and Management _(knowledge)_
- Food Production _(knowledge)_
- Administrative _(knowledge)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Learning Strategies _(Specialized Skill)_
- Instructing _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- MEDITECH software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Appointment scheduling software
- Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro
- CBORD Nutrition Service Suite
- Computrition Nutrition Care Management NCM Select
- CyberSoft NutriBase

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 54th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 45th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 80th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 41st percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 30th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 2.5% growth (About average); 4k annual openings; 30.9k → 31.7k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $37,040; 29,950 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 40% automation, 49% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Plan menus or diets or guide individuals or families in food selection, preparation, or menu planning, based upon nutritional needs and established guidelines. _(3.3% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Conduct nutritional assessments of individuals, including obtaining and evaluating individuals' dietary histories, to plan nutritional programs. _(1.9% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Provide dietitians with assistance researching food, nutrition, or food service systems. _(0.8% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me plan menus or diets or guide individuals or families in food selection, preparation, or menu planning, based upon nutritional needs and established guidelines.
- Help me conduct nutritional assessments of individuals, including obtaining and evaluating individuals' dietary histories, to plan nutritional programs.
- Help me provide dietitians with assistance researching food, nutrition, or food service systems.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2051-00_