I never directly dealt with a non-compete agreement but my brother in law has. He signed the agreement two years ago and found out recently the consequences of it. When he decided to defer his contract, he was obligated to pay the company 3 months of his salary. He also needed a lawyer to complete documentation to allow him to leave the company and for the company to allow him to work for another company. Mind you, he works in Dubai, so the non-compete regulations might be slightly different over there than the United States. It was a huge headache for him, so I wouldn’t suggest someone to sign a non-compete unless they are confident that they do not want to work for another company within a certain time frame.