to wonder if I should continue with a degree or not?

[extremepie]

I'm doing a course at college which is supposed to lead on to a uni course. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing and found that, apart from any future job aspects, it has really done wonders for my self esteem and mental wellbeing. I'm a carer for DS2 and I don't cope well being at home all the time at all and am worried about my future finances after DS turns 18 if I have been out of work for over a decade, hence the course and uni plans.

Obviously the long term plan after uni is that I can get a job in the field I will be studying in but that's where I run into problems :/

The uni course I want to go on is only a foundation degree so in order to do the top up year I will have to move, I live in a rural area and there are no uni's in the county than do the course I want. I'm not keen to move as I love living in this area and the kids are settled but it's the only way I will be able to get a full degree in the subject I want.

The other issue is an actual job - the job I want to get is very specialised and there are not many jobs in it in the whole of the uk let alone my area.

It's getting me down as I'm really enjoying my course and really want to go on and get a job in the field but I just think it will be very very difficult to do that living when I am :(

Do I continue with my career plans and move somewhere I really don't want to live or do I give up on the idea and try to go for something I don't like as much but is more likely to get me a job here?

I'm a carer too and I've found that doing a degree I love has been brilliant for my self esteem. I think it's worth doing it for that reason alone. I don't have a real aim to find work in that field in the future though, as my DS will need me even as an adult and financially we can manage without me working. It's something I'll always have an interest in though and I'm applying for MA courses next year to continue my interest in the subject.

I think living rurally is always going to limit you with courses and jobs, and can be very isolating as well as a carer. Personally I am a city girl and that is one reason I'd never live in the countryside, but if the general lifestyle of country living is important to you, you have to consider whether it's important enough to have that impact on your (and your family's) opportunities in life.