Andrew Barrocas knew he wanted to be a salesman after making $50,000 one summer at age 16, driving a Good Humor ice cream truck. A marketing major in college, he was looking for a different job once he realized he’d make the same income if he stuck with marketing. His brother suggested he try real estate, luring him with the promise of a six-figure income. Mr. Barrocas, now 28, knew it was just what he was looking for.

He got his license immediately after graduation and went to work, soon becoming a top salesman at Citi Habitats within his first year and branching off at age 26 to start his own sales and rental firm.

“Real estate was a route that I didn’t have to wait in line in order to be successful. I was able to get as much as I wanted based on what I did and what I was capable of doing,” Mr. Barrocas said.

The number of young people getting their real estate licenses is increasing, according to several brokerage firms and the city’s largest licensing preparatory school. College graduates like Mr. Barrocas are attracted to the perks of real estate sales: a six-figure salary, flexible hours, and no formal supervisor. The state requires 45 hours of coursework, a licensing exam, and a sponsor, and then anyone can start making a commission.

Recent graduates who get their licenses — which cost $330 for the classes, course materials, and state exam fee — are sidestepping graduate school, avoiding more student loan debt, and earning more than they would in other jobs, the president of the New York Real Estate Institute, Richard A. Levine, said.

“Obviously for a lot of people, it’s a popular choice,” he said. “Look at the current job market — real estate has been great for years, and continues to be a great job, while the cost of college is going up and up.”

But what happens to those salespeople who are only in it for the quick cash?

Mr. Barrocas, who has hired 35 agents of the 1,000 who have applied to his firm, knows the problem well.

“I think that the benchmark for getting in this business is extremely low,” he said. “We’re seeing people come in for the wrong reasons — I think the more successful people are the people who want to build a career at this, who want to become an expert.”

In his firm, two-thirds of his agents are under 30.

A principal of Bellmarc Realty, Neil Binder, said his sales firm typically does not hire young people, even though the company puts a premium on hands-on training.

“We don’t feel that they have the maturity. They aren’t generally effective in dealing with people who spend millions of dollars in buying homes,” Mr. Binder said, noting the clients are also looking for more sophisticated realtors.

For some young people, though, starting off at a small sales firm can lead to higher career goals.

A sales assistant at Janet Robilotti Associates, Kari Patel, is only 21 but got her license last spring as a job between college and law school, and now wants to pursue a degree in real estate law. Looking at her peers, Ms. Patel knows the business isn’t for everyone, especially those wanting to earn fast cash.

“I don’t think students have a good understanding of real estate,” Ms. Patel said. “It’s hard to start off because you usually don’t have any connections. It takes a lot of time and experience to build up a database.”

But to Mr. Barrocas and Mr. Levine, it’s the young people who make the business at the ground level work.

Young people have a zeal and excitement not often seen in older brokers. “My theory is that young people are too stupid to know it can’t work, and they make [it] work,” Mr. Barrocas said.

Mr. Levine agreed: “They are energetic, hitting the streets and putting in long hours, and not being constrained by family or a time commitment.”