CNET certification - realistic timeline if you already teach the Enneagram?
I've been studying the Enneagram seriously for about 4 years and teaching it informally in workshop and coaching settings. I'm now looking seriously at the CNET certification through the Narrative Enneagram and trying to get a realistic picture of the time commitment before I commit to the full program. Most of what I've read online is promotional rather than first-hand.
From what I can gather, the certification involves supervised teaching hours, written work, and panel work with typed participants. I'm comfortable with the type structures and theory, but I'm less confident about the panel facilitation piece - it takes real skill to hold that space and I've seen it done both well and poorly in trainings I've attended.
My main concerns are cost and timeline. I've heard the process takes 2-3 years for most people, which is a serious commitment alongside a full-time coaching practice. Does that timeline compress if you already have substantial teaching experience, or is the supervised hours requirement fixed regardless of background?
Also curious about practical market demand after certification. Do organizations specifically seek out CNET holders, or is the credential more valuable for credibility within the Enneagram community than for external client acquisition?
The cohort experience matters more than I expected. You're learning alongside other serious practitioners and the peer feedback through the process is often as valuable as the formal curriculum. Factor that into how you think about the overall investment.
For client acquisition outside the Enneagram community, the CNET carries limited direct weight - most coaching clients don't know what the credential means. The value is credibility within the Enneagram world and the depth of the training itself.
I'm 18 months into the process and the panel facilitation piece has been both the most valuable and the most humbling part. It's where theory meets lived experience and you genuinely can't shortcut it. Budget time and emotional bandwidth for it.
The timeline is pretty fixed at 2-3 years even with prior teaching experience. The supervised hours and panel requirements don't compress much. The process is developmental by design - it's not purely a competency check you can test out of.