Career change advice (From Dev to Nutritionist)

A program in nutrition always start you off with an introductory course in biology, chemistry, and some mathematics. While you could study all that stuff before you start enrollment, it would be wise not to waste your time over studying. The reason I mention this is because nowadays, there are so many resources online, such as animations, written tutorials, prior course notes, and YouTube videos that can help you to understand concepts faster than ever before. I started university in 2006, and as you know, it was a whole different world then. Barely any of those resources were available to me or my friends.

When it comes to learning biology, the most effective way is by watching animations. An excellent YouTube channel for this is Homework Clinic [1][2]. Chemistry is a whole different beast, as it requires that you know your basic mathematics very well. I know you mentioned that you code, and that requires logic and basic mathematics, so maybe you're in luck and will excel at it. Still, chemistry is packed with conversion questions, theory-based study that really requires someone to teach you one-on-one in a classroom setting. You could try finding some of these concepts on our own channel, but still you need someone to help you with follow up questions that you most inevitably will have.

If you're going to learn nutrition part-time, it will take longer than the standard four years to acquire a degree. So you might be in your late 30's before graduating. Add another 2 or 3 years if you're planning on doing a master's program after. I salute you for your courage in going back to school at that age. I started my masters in mathematics when I was 33, and finished it two years later -- it was really challenging, especially since I am married and have children. Thus, it is definitely doable.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah it's very hard and I am not even sure when I can start.

But I need to change because i feel very frustrated doing this job.

I would like to do something that is actually useful to somebody, instead of wasting my time sitting on a chair and writing code.

Unfortunately I jad a very shitty family and had to start working at 16, so no time to find my path. I took the best job that could have given me a good salary as quick as possible, but I always wanted to do something more.

I will see how it goes, but I want to try and maybe I can finally do something that I like.

Job satisfaction is very important, but sadly you don't start realizing it until you're in your 30s, once you wise up. AI has also taken its toll on coders, whom once were heralded as the rock stars of the future. Now AI can 'logically' produce code in a matter of seconds, troubleshoot issues, find vulnerabilities, etc. essentially threatening to replace all those bright coders.

I do want to point out that job satisfaction is rarely consistent. Sometimes you're super into your job, and other times you're just not feeling it. However, if this is the way you've felt for sometime now, maybe your heart is in the right place? For me, while I am a professor and thoroughly enjoy my role (most of the time), the greatest satisfaction comes when I am building (for example, construction work). If there is anything else I would rather do than teach, it would be a contractor. Moral of the story is, make sure you actually enjoy nutrition, that is, you enjoy offering advice, that you keep up with the research, are a good communicator, etc., before you end up in the same spot as you're in now with coding.

A lot of people are lost when it comes to nutrition, especially in North America. You can spell out exactly what they need to ensure healthy living, yet they will still require professional guidance. I think this is a great branch of science to get into, a masters degree in nutrition is essential before you are to be taken seriously.

Yes I am also thinking about "what if then I do not like it at the end?".

What I actually love is baking, bread, pizza and other things, but I grew up in a restaurant and I know that if you take that path, you have to live in the restaurant or bakery.

It's a very hard choice and not being able to dedicate my time in full to studying is not the best.

Maybe I am going to end up studying all I can just to know more about the argument for myself, in order to have the knowledge about what is really useful and what not. Especially because on the internet you find a lot of crap you cannot rely on.

Post Merge: 8 months ago

Also now people give credit to stupid tiktok or instagram influencers that say a lot of crap, instead of giving credit to people with a PHD and woth valid studies.

It's all upside down, stupid people gets credit and money, while people that studied theis asses off are the ones saying crap. Amazing world we are living in.

Going from being a dev to nutritionist is major jump; I've taught both kinds of students and they are very different groups. Devs are technical nerds (no offense), while nutritionist are generally more personable -- they sort of have to be anyway since their job entails active listening and open communication. When I speak to a developer, especially those educated in the West, I feel like they have a superiority complex, like the person making a requesting is stupid or something (maybe I've just has poor experiences). Luckily I know enough about code to hold my ground.


Agreed, 90% of it is bullshit. It's the entertainment aspect of it that has most of addicted. For me, I've never made an account on either of those platforms, and forbid my wife to indulge. Once that door opens, it becomes increasingly hard to close it afterwards. I particularly hate how they usually advertise some influencer who's half-naked when you do browse or watch one of their linked videos. If you don't believe me, try browsing TikTok on incognito mode, where you aren't signed in. It's definitely not a conspiracy theory.

If you do have an expertise in nutrition however, I think people would take you more seriously on those platforms. GenZ's actually respect highly educated people, because they're taught how education is the staple of success. This is why so many young people are opting into colleges rather than going into the work force (which is where they should be rather than studying sociology and feminist nonsense in schools). Although there's also the risk of being over-shadowed by members that are much more established, they can steal your ideas quite easily if you don't have a wide-enough reach.

Nevertheless, I think doing something that gives your life purpose everyday is pivotal to finding happiness. If your current job isn't bringing you that satisfaction, you need to start looking for a side-hustle. That is, some hobby that you can potentially make you some real money if you decide you've completely had it with your career. You need to start this now, so that in a few years, you'll be skilled at something else that nobody in your inner circle knew you had -- build this persona slowly but surely.

Yes I can understand your point of view on devs, I myself have and had to work with very poor devs, but they think they are amazing.

I never had this issue because I know that there's always someone that is better than you, you can just do your best, but you're not a divinity.

I always have been against social networks, they are infected with very bad people and nobody will ever help you there, this is why I am off also from LinkedIn, it has become another crappy show off social.

In terms of interpersonal relationships with people, I surely am not the best, but when it comes to direct people I always manage to get them to reason on what it's really their goal and I always try to direct them, telling them to avoid internet crap.

I managed with few studies to create a good exercise plan for me and my wife and we saw a good amount of results. Also I love to experiment with food and create recipes that are not filled with bad stuff.

This is why I decided to start nutrition. I would like to help who wants to be helped, but in a different way, I want to educate people on how to be better at choosing what to eat and what to do.

I am glad that I found people on this forum that is supportive and does not start to attack you.

That's the key right there, I was looking for that in your response! That's exactly what a nutritionist does.

On a side note, I would also look at whether nutritionists are in demand where you live. Typically you can get an idea based on how many schools offer the program in your area and neighboring cities, or if there are jobs currently being offered near where you live. The last thing you want to happen is to graduate after four grueling years of university, then struggle to find something permanent. Have you thought of linking your current line of expertise with nutrition? Maybe that's something that could give you an edge moving forward.


Happy you feel welcome, here to help!

Yes I already have planned to use my current job to create online tools that can help me manage people etc. Let's say a platform to be used by me to have records, monitor people and other stuff.

I want to be able to help people in various parts of the world if possible.

We are unsure about where we are going to live in 3 years or so, but my aim is to provide help online and in person.

I went to nutritionists where I live and they do not help you at all, most of them follow a type of thought, for example, no carbs or low carbs etc.

But they do not form you on how to act once you finished, they just give you a quite shitty diet and most of the time you go in starvation or your metabolism goes down instead of up.

I achieved more results studying by myself and applying my knowledge than when paying them.

I also understand why they do it, people want results quick and without a lot of effort, but ot's not the right way to do it, you must make them understand that their body is very complex and you must understand how they work, then instruct them on this, in order to continue feeding their body based on that.

This reminds me of the proverbial expression, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink". Most people that visit a nutritionist are not doing it voluntarily; probably as a result of doctor recommendations due to poor health conditions. At that point, they're so into their ways of poor eating habits that anything a professional recommends is taken as blasphemy. Over time, this can cause even the most enthusiastic professional to become jaded, and it shows with their responses and recommendations as you pointed it.

I'm real interested in this program you're developing. Curious if it will be available online or if it is something proprietary you plan on selling to medical professionals. Either way, both are solid ideas.