Public Works Engineer Earns Professional Licensure

Thursday, January 22nd, 2026

Jackson Sheppard recently passed a major milestone in his engineering career. The Public Works Department's Division Manager of Projects recently passed his boards and earned his licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE). It's a major accomplishment that comes after several years of hard work.

"It was definitely a big relief. It's something any civil engineering graduate always aspires to if you're taking your career seriously, to obtain your licensure," Sheppard said. "It's a pretty stressful process, the goal is not to have to take (the exam) more than once... so I just locked myself in my office after hours and also through the weekend (to study). It felt very isolating, but it was worth it in the long run."

Caption: Jackson Sheppard pictured recently outside of City Hall 

To earn licensure as a PE, a candidate must first graduate from college with an engineering degree. Sheppard earned his degree in civil engineering from Kennesaw State University. After passing a comprehensive Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, candidates can register as an Engineer-In-Training with Georgia's Board of Registration For Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Then candidates work for a minimum of four years gaining real-world experience under the supervision of a professional engineer, which Sheppard has done in the Public Works Department. Then candidates must pass the PE exam. 

"Four years, looking back, it flew by," Sheppard said. "The weeks leading up to the exam, constant studying and preparation... it was definitely very fulfilling and satisfying to be finished and to pass."

Sheppard is a Whitfield County native and graduated from Coahulla Creek High School before beginning his college career at the University of Dubuque in Iowa, playing baseball and planning to study medicine. His summer jobs at Dalton's Public Works Department led him to switch his major to engineering, however, at the urging of Dalton's City Administrator Andrew Parker, who was the department's director at the time. Sheppard transferred to Dalton State College before finishing his degree at Kennesaw State. He interned with the Public Works Department while he studied, and then joined the department full-time after graduation.

Sheppard completed his board exam last November and received his PE license earlier this month.