Carlos BENITEZ-ROLON, Class of 2021

>Can you tell us about your academic background?

After a obtaining the literary baccalaureate at the French Lycée in Asunción (Paraguay), I enrolled in a Sociology degree at the Catholic University of Asunción. As well as providing me with the foundations of theory and practice, my years there made me want to continue my sociology training, which I was able to do by joining the Sciences Po School of Research, from which I graduated in 2021.

How did your interest in sociology begin?

During my final years in high school, I found the social situation in Paraguay challenging. I needed to understand the social processes – why certain changes were taking place and others were failing – which naturally led me to sociology, a field that was still underdeveloped in the country at that time.

What did your years of study at the Sciences Po School of Research (formerly the Doctoral School) bring you?

My two years at the School of Research provided me with sound, high-quality theoretical and practical training. The various courses, both in quantitative and qualitative methodology, deepened my understanding of various topics. Writing my dissertation was a formative experience, and the knowledge and research skills I acquired have proven very useful in my current work.

Which teacher or teaching has had the greatest impact on you?

I learned a lot from most of the courses I attended, but I must say that the dissertation experience (data collection and writing the text) was particularly inspiring, and I am very grateful to Professor Bruno Cousin for his invaluable support throughout this journey, and for the opportunity to discover, thanks to his guidance, the exciting world of the sociology of elites. I was also greatly impressed by Professor Agnès van Zanten’s course on the sociology of education, through which I discovered the field of the structures, causes and consequences of educational inequalities.

What memories do you have of your school, your class, your teachers?

I have very good memories of my time at the School of Research – a place where I met teachers and fellow students not only of great intellect, but also great humanity.

What is your current role?

I work as a Research Executive at YouGov, a market research, polling and data analytics company.

What were the main stages in the construction of your career plans?

Before joining Sciences Po, I had already worked in Latin America, notably at a consulting firm and in an NGO-established development programme. These experiences led me to join Sciences Po, and my degree and training enabled my entry into the world of social, political and market research.

How have your studies contributed to the position you hold today?

My training in various social research methods (especially quantitative) has proven very useful in the position I hold today. Developing my knowledge of the programming language and software R (*) and the opportunities I had to work on various problems also helped prepare me for this position.

Would you have any advice to give to a student who wants to go into the field in which you work today?

The Master's degree in Sociology from the Sciences Po School of Research offers comprehensive training that can open many doors, particularly in the world of social, political and market research. I would advise anyone who wishes to embark on a career in this field to take advantage of the good methodological training (especially quantitative) that the Master's degree offers – training that will be of great use when conducting any type of study.

(*) R is a programming language for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Core Team and the R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Created by statisticians Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman, R is used among data miners, bioinformaticians and statisticians for data analysis and developing statistical software.

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• About Master’s in Sociology

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[ April 2022 ]