The only time I've ever heard of a noncompete being enforced was when an IT worker bid against his employer on a contract renewal he was working on, and won. H

The only time I've ever heard of a noncompete being enforced was when an IT worker bid against his employer on a contract renewal he was working on, and won. His newly former employer had sued him and won, and made him unhappy for a long time via the courts. Some things like noncompetes really exist for the worst case scenario, but is threatened in all cases.