What does it take to be a Software Engineer and System Analyst?

I'm a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
I have more than average skill in programming than any of the other students but i feel I'm still not ready to take on a job in my line of study. Almost all of the students in batch look up to me when it comes to programming but i still feel what i can do is still not enough.

Is there anyone here who is a software engineer and system analyst?
Could you tell me how you started?
Did you start on the job feeling what you know is not enough and get experience to earn more knowledge?
Or did you start the job knowing you can do everything?

what you think about yourself is good but what an organization require is different than our thinking

Try to do some projects and show it to your seniors which 'll guide you to do follow some standards of the industry

practice a lot to become a good programmer

The first thing I would do is not look for a big company, but maybe get experance creating a profolio of work. You can take jobs that you know you can do and may help you learn more in the process. There are several freelance websites that you can bid on projects like:

www.guru.com
www.scriptlance.com
a new better version is comming out soon
www.guru.liquidct.com

That is the way I would start getting experance. hope that helps.

STUDY,STUDY AND STUDY!!!

Started of knowing nothing went to Uni and ended up knowing even less. Study is fine but to be honest after spending 20 years as a Programmer/Analyst/Network engineer, what you learn at Uni amounts to very little apart from the aptitude to know your language, and the thought process that goes on around programming.

Don't get me wrong I don't diss what your doing, however leave whatever unversity your doing it at and hopefully you'll get a job programming.

Then you will realize the real world is nothing like the cloistered world of acedemia. If I had a dollar/pound for everytime I hear.

"How quick can you turn x,y,z around"
"Can you just"

90% of the people I have developed for wouldn't know a good bit of code if I showed it to them, and to be honest I ahve written in my time some really bad code that work well and some really good code that worked bad.

So saying that I started as an Operator on a Sperry Univac System 80 32K loading and unloading tapes I know own my own little Cottage IT Business and only develop what I am interested in.

My besy bit of advice for you is go into every job with the understanding you know nothing at all, but you have the knowledge to know how to grasp the concept of their business.