What will happen to "novice" realtors?

Hi. Early last year, some of my acquaintances got lured by the then-booming real estate market, and they quit their jobs to became real estate agents. Now, with all these recent news about slow market, etc., I was thinking--what will happen to them? They gave up pretty good jobs, and I don't think they ever really made "real" money in real estate (because they were just getting started, as the market came to a dead halt). Will they be forced out of the profession altogether, do you all think, or can they sustain a living by focusing on, say, rentals? Any ideas?