"I certainly get tired of localization."

Have you said this lately? Have you thought it lately? Do you wish you'd joined the Rolling Stones when they invited you?

What do you plan to do after localization? What will you do next in your career?

Look at the localization people around you. How did they get into this business? How has their job changed since they did what you're now doing? At least two prominent figures in our industry started out as professionals (attorney and tax consultant), then started small translation companies that grew very large. Neither of them translates anything or manages projects anymore, but both have used the industry as a springboard to broader career paths.

On the vendor-side, translators become project managers, who become leads, who become salespeople, who ultimately run the company, or start their own. On the client-side, localization managers become product managers, who become directors of product marketing. On either side, your company could easily be purchased and you might have to start over from scratch. Will you be ready?

I've visited high school and college classes to describe to language students how they can use their talents to enter several industries, including translation/localization. It hasn't occurred to me to address the question, "After that, what?"

Of course, you don't need to wait until you've grown tired of localization to start planning your own outplay. If you don't have another marketable talent in your back pocket right now, then you must not be reading the newspapers. Years ago I had a very discerning boss who asked me in confidence, "In how many completely different ways can you earn a living? You should always be accumulating multiple talents you could apply to make money, if you had to."

So, during the day you're a localization manager, and at night you offer bookkeeping services to small businesses. Or, Monday through Friday you run translation projects, and on Saturdays you do search engine optimization for friends' Web sites.

Yes, it's more work, but when the localization train reaches the last station and you get off (or are pushed off), you'll have more options in picking the train to board next.