In the 1967 movie “The Graduate,” a middle-aged businessman has one word of life advice for our hero: “plastics.” He meant that the younger man should try to get rich by going into the booming plastics industry. In the 1960s, plastics and other technology industries of the day seemed like a gold rush. But they weren’t the first or the last.
From whale oil and the actual California gold rush in the 1800s, to the dot-com boom and the finance mania in recent decades, Americans have always been entranced by the idea of an industry where everyone can get rich quick. Like Bill Gates dropping out of college to start Microsoft Corp., millions of young entrepreneurs over the centuries have picked up and moved to where they saw opportunity.
Now, though, the U.S. economy looks like it might have run out of gold rushes. Overall, the economy is doing pretty well — unemployment is low, labor force participation is recovering, wages have risen and stock markets are at record highs. But if you’re a young, energetic American entrepreneur or talented worker looking to strike it rich, where do you go in 2017? The Wall Street and real estate booms of the 2000s are now ancient history. What’s left?