I'm wondering what the "hot" sectors were historically in the U.S., prior to the rise of Wall Street (and now Silicon Valley). What kind of jobs did the top talent gravitate towards?
Wall Street as a location of financial instrument trading has existed since 1792, so your answer depends on location and timeframe. 1800s New England? Whaling. 1990s California? Tech. 1950s Detroit? Heavy manufacturing. Can you be more specific?