Do you believe you’re earning what you’re worth? No? You’re not alone. I recently conducted an online salary satisfaction survey (June-July 2006) of 552 Registered Dietitians currently employed in dietetics. Not surprisingly, 52% were either “unsatisfied or very unsatisfied” with their current financial compensation and 62% said that compared with other people with similar years of experience and education, they felt “underpaid or very underpaid.”

Not only are these dietitians unhappy with their present earnings, but it also appears their unhappiness has penetrated into their overall preference for their chosen profession. Sadly, 40% agreed with the statement, “I’ve seriously thought about switching careers so I can make the money I need.” When asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “If I had to do it all over again, I’d still become a dietitian,” 37% disagreed.

This unhappiness likely results from the fact that, according to the 2005 American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s (CDR) Compensation & Benefits Survey of the Dietetics Profession, dietitians (with an average of 15 years’ experience) are earning an average salary of $49,500 – less than most entry level professional positions in other areas.

But, don’t feel depressed! It is very possible to make more dough in dietetics. In fact, 10% of all dietitians earn more than $77,900 (according to ADA’s Survey)! And the good news is that you, too, could be earning that much. In 2006, I surveyed 88 of these “financially successful dietitians” to find out what skills they had in common. You might be surprised what I found out!

Would you like to earn more than $77,900 a year? You can! I recently surveyed 88 of these “Financially Successful Dietitians” and asked them what traits, skills, education, and/or experience they felt contributed to their “financial” success.

Here’s what I found out – it’s more about the “soft skills” rather than the technical skills of dietetics. In other words, it isn’t just what you know, it’s how you communicate that knowledge to other people. Financially successful dietitians have people skills, communication skills, self confidence and more! And you can learn these skills too!

To help you benefit from the expertise of these “financially successful” dietitians, I’m developing a self-study program about “How to Make More Dough in Dietetics.” The extensive self-study program will include detailed results, encouraging stories from “financially successful” dietitians, and tips from experts about how you can develop these skills. Until this report is available, click on the green sign up button for the FREE eNewsletter. Every few weeks, I’ll send you a sneak preview of the report so you can get a jump start on your financial success.