The Careers Adviser: How can I put dietetics on the menu? Where can I find the data to justify a salary rise?

Food for thought

Q. I have recently graduated with a BA/BSc in health and psychology (2:1). I am now keen to read dietetics and become a registered dietician. It seems that universities offering postgraduate courses like students to have A-level biology, but one module dragged my mark down to a D - will this be enough? Do I have to take an access course? Or does already having a degree change things?

A. It does change things. Don't worry about your D at A-level - what is important here is your study at university. Postgraduate entry to study dietetics usually needs a 2:1 at first-degree level, which you already have, plus some study of physiology and biochemistry. The exact number of credits and levels needed varies between universities, so you should check with admissions tutors at those you are targeting. You will need the course transcript of your first degree as this will give them the detail they require about what you have studied at university.

If you haven't got these subjects to the standard required, you may be able to "top up" by taking modules at a local university or via the Open University. Access courses are designed for those with no formal academic qualifications to allow entry to degrees. Admissions tutors can give you more detailed guidance. The website is the British Dietetic Association (www.bda.uk.com lists accredited universities)

What am I worth?

Q. I have been trying to carry out some salary research as my yearly review is coming up, and I want not only to ask for a pay increase, but to be able to justify it both in terms of my own workload and broader industry standards. I have been working in communications for more than three years. I am now the head of PR at a drinks marketing company, where I have to deal with all the brands as well as advertising and events.

A. There are broad guidelines out there - recruitment consultants and the industry magazinePR Week regularly do salary surveys.PR Week also carries job adverts with salaries attached, so you can get an idea of how work comparable to yours is paid.

Leith Ramsay of Michael Page International says the going rate for a top-flight, degree-qualified PR with five years' experience (somewhere near where you might want to be in another year's time) is £35,000 to £40,000 basic, not including extra payments for things like cars, pensions or health insurance. However, this sounds as if it would be at the top end of what you might achieve, and salaries may be significantly less in smaller or less profitable companies, or away from London. Check out the new salary survey Michael Page is about to publish (it'll be on www.michaelpage.com in a couple of weeks' time).

In the end, though, it comes down to what the employer thinks you are worth, plus how easily or cheaply they can replace you, so go in there armed with the figures you've gleaned, plus a clear idea of how you can describe your achievements in the past 12 months. If there have been some objectives set that you can say you have exceeded, given your workload, that will help. Ramsay also says (based on his company's surveys and job placements) that the market is more buoyant than for a while. In the end, though, the acid test is whether you find the outcome of the negotiations satisfactory enough to stay, or whether someone else would be prepared to pay you an amount sufficiently great to force a move.

Careers adviser: Anne-Marie Martin, director, The Careers Group, University of London.

Send your queries to Caroline Haydon at 'The Independent', Education Desk, Second Floor, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; or fax 020-7005 2143; or e-mail to chaydon@blueyonder.co.uk