Sure, like if the non-compete isn't that onerous for you (some are as short as 6 months, and some firms pay your salary for the duration of the non-compete), an

Sure, like if the non-compete isn't that onerous for you (some are as short as 6 months, and some firms pay your salary for the duration of the non-compete), and you get compensated for it (e.g. a large salary boost). Also, many firms in finance enforce non-competes as well as many other restrictions, e.g. mandatory approval for trading in personal accounts. So if you want to work in this industry, it's not easy to avoid them without compromising something else.