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I heard once from a German boss of mine, that these non-compete clauses are anyway illegal in Germany ;-)

Oh yeah I was going to add that (but didn't think it was relevant) -- they're very un-enforcable (and a lot of the time illegal) in a lot of places (including where I am). I'm going to stick to it, though, for a few reasons:

1) I did sign it, and maybe a little bit of suffering will go a long way to helping me remember this lesson forever (and read contracts more critically).

2) I have almost 0 interest in the space the company was in.

3) I'm confident I can make a living without working in that space for a year.

Uh oh, but the non-compete clause is for an industry, e.g. You can't go from BMW to Audi, or from SoundCloud to Apple Music ;-) It doesn't mean you can't work for anybody for a year, LOL :D That one would be 100% illegal, nobody can force you to be unemployed for a year :-D

s/space/industry/g

yeah I meant the industry, I don't really mind not working in any related company for a year :D

FWIW under German contract law, even in the case you describe the clause is only valid if you receive a compensation for as long as the non-compete is in effect.

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