Well, I'm not saying it was the *safest* of routes...!
But yeah, there are plenty of avenues into aerospace engineering without restricting yourself with an aerospace engineering degree. Mech, structures, elec... all good degrees for aerospace applications.
If, however, you're stuck with aerospace engineering, my best recommendation is to get your PhD in it and be so instrumental at what you do that Uncle Sam has no choice but to Werner-Von-Braun you...!