Non competes are often necessary in the most interesting jobs. A few years ago I took a job at a hedge fund with a 2 year noncompete. I took a calculated risk doing so.
In the 2 years I worked in the fund, I learned a tremendous amount thanks to being exposed to the "secret sauce" which would have been really damaging for me to take to a competitor.
After I left the fund, I took the 2 year non-compete (ie: don't work in another fund) to explore other industries, ended up in a FAANG and quite happy.
Point being, as an adult I weighed the risk of the non competes vs the opportunity of the role and made a decision. I am not sure how this kind of role would work in a world of no non-competes but I suspect it would be suboptimal for everyone.
The bottom line is, a non compete is not something that springs on you. It's something you evaluated in context and chose, as a professional. You don't have to take the job.
In the 2 years I worked in the fund, I learned a tremendous amount thanks to being exposed to the "secret sauce" which would have been really damaging for me to take to a competitor.
After I left the fund, I took the 2 year non-compete (ie: don't work in another fund) to explore other industries, ended up in a FAANG and quite happy.
Point being, as an adult I weighed the risk of the non competes vs the opportunity of the role and made a decision. I am not sure how this kind of role would work in a world of no non-competes but I suspect it would be suboptimal for everyone.
The bottom line is, a non compete is not something that springs on you. It's something you evaluated in context and chose, as a professional. You don't have to take the job.