Which MOS would be better for advancing both a military and civilian career, 68C or 68W?

First and foremost, for the love of god, if you are joining the Regular Army do not choose 68G or 68J. Those are med records and med supply. They are about as dead end as an MOS can be on Active Duty, and it doesn't take special skills to photocopy a record or order supplies just because it has the word medical in it.

You said you want to be an RN, and that is great. The Army has an RN producing program for anyone in any MOS called the AECP. More on that later, all that matters is that you need real college credits taken at a college and they need to be adequate for you to be accepted into an RN program in a US university.


Most people see 68C Licensed Practical Nurse and see only "Nurse" and believe that somehow makes them closer to a Registered Nurse. However, that is not true. Almost every single RN program will require a letter grade from an LPN program for an "LPN to RN Bridge" program. The Army 68C AIT will license you to practice in the state of Texas, but it will not give you a letter grade in individual courses. So, you will have to take actual courses for all your prerequisites and earn actual grades.

At this point I am only talking about AECP because as MAJ Byron Oyler pointed out, it is impossible to earn a BSN while on active duty in your off time.

In order to qualify for AECP you must be able to complete your BSN in 21 months, that is two school years with one summer for training. You must get accepted to a BSN program with your first two years of college completed and all your prerequisites completed. The Army doesn't have a Nursing school, so it is up to you to meet the prerequisites of the BSN program you are applying to.

Now back to 68C vs. 68W.
68C will give you experience in nursing. You will get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an LPN in an MTF. You are the lowest man on the totem pole and will get shit on a lot. If you don't have any experience in nursing, this may be your best option. You need to know what you are getting yourself into before committing to a two year school period and an additional six years of working as an RN to pay back the Army.

Now, if you know what you want and want to move fast, the 68W AIT is about four months long. You get done eight months earlier, start on your courses, knock out your prerequisites, and get your letters of recommendation from your PA and jump onto the next AECP class.
If you know that you want to be an RN then choose 668W and knock out your courses immediately. If you "think" you'd like to be an RN but have never been exposed to hospital life, then choose 68C so you can see what an RN actually does.
If you haven't worked in a hospital before you might find that you would prefer being an PA, MD, physical therapist assistant, or respiratory therapist instead. There are lots of medical and medical support jobs. You should get a feel of them before you commit several years to one

On the military side, 68W has better promotion rates than 68C. However, on the civilian side, 68C is better.

Go With the MOS, That You Will Be Happy Doing, Because If You Are Not Happy Doing Your Job, You Will Not Be A Good Soldier, When You Have Too Get Up At 0 Dark Thirty Too Go Too Work, You Have To Be “Spot On” Or You Will Fail .