Designing radars and missiles to shoot down other missiles is a hoot! 
Find out who has contracts with NASA or private developers. Are the Thomas Registers still published? That might be a good source of names of companies to investigate.
He should be getting in contact with aerospace companies now. Not only will he be exposing himself to potential employers now, but he also can pick their brains on every one of his questions.
As a bonus, he could end up with some decent summer jobs.
He should look at interning during his summers with one of the private space projects.
The future for aerospace engineers in government employ isn’t very bright. NASA’s budget will be cut soon, one way or the other.
But the private sector space projects are just getting started.
Jobs in any field are hard to come by these days.
But there is always a place to go for help.
Ask God for wisdom, guidance and help will be soon forthcoming. Guaranteed.........................
Wish I could be more encouraging, but this is a particularly bad time to be seeking work in aerospace.
Obama has for all practical purposes killed NASA. And the defense industry is preparing for massive layoffs in the wake of potential budget sequestration and/or an Obama second term.
HR managers I know have inboxes literally overflowing with resumes from folks with 20+ years at NASA or in the defense industry.
Maybe he should look into companies that make unmanned drones. That appears to be one lone bright spot.
He should consider a graduate degree. With these kind of grades (and as an American citizen), he would easily be able to get a masters or PhD for free, with an additional monthly stipend, from an excellent school.
Engineering is an excellent springboard to high finance. That is where the money is.
And a talented person in finance can help himself and society more than a talented engineer can.
Remember the parable of the Talents!
my engineer sons both found permanent jobs through internship opportunities. the students who did not intern scrambled for jobs just before graduation. the college might not have a handle on jobs after graduation, but there are usually some internship positions advertised.
one son found his internship through his university - other son had to find his own. he looked for biggest companies in his field, sent his resume & applied online.
engineers are still finding jobs.
Norway needs on engineers, or so I’ve heard. ( No idea what kind)
Happy to give some advice ....my 87 yr old father who is sitting right next to me now has just heard your request and has some ideas. His background is: ‘47 grad from USNA; BS in engineering, No Carolina State; master’s in engineering for MIT; attended Cal Tech; PhD from Johns Hopkins in double E. He worked for Martin Marietta while at Hopkins and a missile he helped build is in the Smithsonian.
His immediate response was for your friend to subscribe to Aviation Week and look at ads in the back. Also, maybe, IEEE mag. Check with govt listings in SDI work or test pilot work at Pax River, MD. Drones are big these days in govt too. Be willing to go anywhere there’s work. Go to the obvious places like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, small airplane makers, Martin Marietta, even Airbus. Also, ancillary systems for aircraft like GPS navigation, control systems, etc. like SAIC. My father worked on a wind shear detection system back in the day at SRI in Menlo Park, CA.
Good luck to your friend...even in this economic environment, once he gets his foot in the door, he should do well.
This may not be the best time to be an aerospace engineer. Since he has a strong basis in the structural aspects of civil engineering, he might have better long term prospects in pursuing additional courses, if needed, to be able to seek work as a structural engineer working in building or bridge design. He needs to remain proficient in the current software.
Designing radars and missiles to shoot down other missiles is a hoot!
Mountain View, California has a huge aerospace presence, as well as higher education.
Santa Barbara, California, UCSB works with many start ups in the Goleta area - my husband calls it brain trust central.
Houston, Texas big aerospace area.
Colorado Springs, Colorado lots of engineering and aerospace companies.
When our national sovereignty is sufficiently eroded, we’ll be in more trouble than our system will permit us to address.
BTW-subverting our system is continuing apace, anyway!
Just as the time to start planning for college is at the start of high school, the time to start planning for a career is before starting college. Bit late in this case...
The best advice I have is devote energy towards finding a career, but absolutely get a job first. Any job held during college time is a massive leg up on the competition - it shows someone who can juggle workload, prioritize, and accomplish goals. Don’t wait to graduate, get it done now.
It is always easier to find a job while working than to find one while unemployed.
If I were a young Aerospace Engineer just starting out, instead of an old Mechanical Engineer in mid-career, I would pack all of my stuff in the old jalopy and drive out to Edwards Dry Lake and start passing out resumes to SpaceX and Scaled Composites.
These guys are hiring, and they are looking for people willing to relocate to the middle of nowhere.
Do NOT work for General Electric.