I have an SDE1 offer from Amazon with an 18 month non-compete agreement. I know this place isn't full of lawyers, but give me the 10,000ft view, what would that mean?
Nobody is gonna give a shit
This. Was an L7 at AWS and moved to MS. MS lawyers looked at my NC agreed I was good to go, that was that.
Not true. A former colleague in AWS went to Google and Amazon sued. He was not able to perform certain roles at Google until 18 months later. https://www.geekwire.com/2014/amazon-sues-employee-taking-google-cloud-job-new-test-non-compete-laws/
Unless you're L7 or above Amazon isn't even going to think about your non-compete if you leave unless you are founding a company to directly compete with Amazon on the work you were doing there
I feel like levels keep decreasing. Before it’s L10. Then level 8. Now it’s L7.
If you're in CA they're illegal.
If you take IP, code or TradeSecrets they'll come after you and rightfully so. If you're earning a living and not-being-evil no court in the US would let grant them an injunction. Look at it this way. - They want to protect their ideas - don't be mean or stupid. - you want to earn a living and the whole world wants that too It's not in their best interest to come after you unless you've done something evil and mean. Action: do a search of who they've gone after and why. You'll find it's not as scary as you have in your mind.
Not true. WA courts will uphold your contract.
This sort of thing is why CA is worth the high taxes we pay here. Last thing I'd want is to get kicked out as part of a downsize and then not be able to work at another job. Now that's unlikely to happen, but if you're looking to switch in a few years it's a reason to consider moving to CA.
Unless you're a VP, it won't matter.
False, they can legally go after anybody. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/business/noncompete-clauses.html
Just because they can doesn't mean they will. Fighting this out in court gets extremely expensive and takes years to resolve, and many judges have no interest in upholding vague scare tactic agreements. This is often a losing battle. Besides that, the press about these cases makes it harder for companies to recruit top talent. Why work for a company where you can learn and grow if they're just going to sue you for using that knowledge later? I think GlyY27's point is that it's a roll of the dice if a company does decide to go after someone on a NC, so when they do, it has to be a really egregious case to make it worth the costs.
The restrictive covenant on non-competition: During employment and for 18 months after the Separation Date, Employee will not, directly or indirectly, whether on Employee’s own behalf or on behalf of any other entity (for example, as an employee, agent, partner, or consultant), engage in or support the development, manufacture, marketing, or sale of any product or service that competes or is intended to compete with any product or service sold, offered, or otherwise provided by Amazon (or intended to be sold, offered, or otherwise provided by Amazon in the future) that Employee worked on or supported, or about which Employee obtained or received Confidential Information.
Pay a lawyer a couple hundred bucks for the right answer.
You're not allowed to work for any competing company. you can't even get a job in Walmart because Amazon bought whole foods. only joking. you're an SDE 1. they won't give a crap.
Are you in CA? If so, non-competes are against public policy and void.
No, Seattle - will my NC apply if I move to CA?
Yes it will still apply anywhere. But as indicated by the responses, the closest choice to the truth is option 3. You will have plenty of freedom.