> Cannot pursue your vocation in certain jurisdictions. And there are plenty of adjacent fields I suspect wouldn't be covered by the NC - like education.

I doubt the PE firm informed him of that, and I'd bet they made their NC seem bulletproof when they talked to him.

sure there are always options. but they may not be visible or accessible. maybe they can not or don't want to move because of family. maybe there are no alternative jobs in the area, maybe they hate teaching. seriously, the only sane response to non-competes is to make them illegal. everything else is missing the point.