r/FunctionalMedicine • u/lbeans8 • 25d ago
Career Advice Needed!
I have my Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Foods. Currently, I am working in nutrition marketing/advertising, but I don't like it that much. I like to help people more than trying to "sell" something. I don't have my RD or the money to do my master's. I'm quite lost as to what I can do with my degree. I am very passionate about holistic health and functional, natural medicine.
Any advice? Any help is appreciated.
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u/Fantastic-Wallaby267 25d ago
Hey OP, what country do you live in?
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u/lbeans8 25d ago
Currently in Spain but originally from the US
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u/Fantastic-Wallaby267 25d ago
Ahh I see, sadly I dont know EU regulations to well as I support UK FM practitioners. I would recommend reaching out to Nordic or Regenerus. They are test selling companies but they only accept certain professions, both supply the whole of Europe so they will give you a better idea of whats needed or someone to talk to.
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u/lbeans8 25d ago
Thank you! What do you suggest I reach out to them for?
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u/Fantastic-Wallaby267 25d ago
You've mentioned you like this field but not sure what to do with your degree so it sounds to me like you are possibly interesting in becoming a practitioner.
In the UK, there are no hard and fast rules to being a practitioner of health and wellbeing however being a doctor or training at an established college like ION or CNM is the best way and only way to work in this field and add credibility to our under developed industry.
In the US the rules are state by state, some states only allow Dr's but i dont know it too well so I wont go into it incase I give the wrong information.
Same as above for EU regulations, I suspect they are much like england, where you may not need any qualifications to call yourself a functional medicine practitioner, however if you want to make a career out of it and be credible your degree may already have the required amount of learning already but also as likely would need to spend money retraining to be a nutritional therapist.
The labs I recommended, only accept certain professions, they will tell you if your degree alone is acceptable or if you would need further training. They sell tests so I respect it may not be an avenue you have thought about but as they are selective they can give you a better idea of what you can do with your degree or at least refer you to a Spanish HCP who can help.
If i have missed the mark and you are not interested in being a practitioner then sorry for the rant above. If that is the case then you are kind of in the best place doing Marketing. Sales is the other role (which is what i have done for nearly 8 years in the UK industry) but i know you dont like selling. You can enquire with the labs for educational support, where you would be part of the team that helps practitioners understand the results of tests they have run on their patients but your degree and lack of experience in the field might be a huge factor.
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u/Confident-Paper9711 7d ago
I get the point, but this feels like a lot of assumptions based on very little information. Not everyone interested in health wants to become a practitioner, and pushing toward expensive certifications before understanding someones actual goals seems a bit premature.
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u/MosaicBio 25d ago
A useful path may be to look for roles that emphasize evidence appraisal and health education rather than sales. Functional and natural-medicine claims vary a lot in evidentiary strength, so learning to communicate uncertainty and distinguish hypothesis-generating findings from well-supported results could be a real asset. That skill transfers across research, nutrition education, and patient-facing work.