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

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
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

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

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