How

do you get experience with doing interesting things when you work full time at a place where no interesting work is done and you have signed a non compete clause that prevents you from getting involved in interesting work on your own time, and thus prevents you from getting provable experience and becoming qualified for more interesting work?

You don't. Companies don't care about you.

murder your boss in the parking lot and shit on his corpse

Fuck non compete clauses. Fuck the police. Do not idle when work is to be done, your prole comrades in engineering shall one day rise up and strike down the filthy capitalist class enemies that burden and stifle them!

Fire your company.

>>1
If the work is uninteresting, how does a non-compete clause prevent you from doing interesting work?

INTEREST MY ANUS

>>3-5
This.

non compete clause that prevents you from getting involved in interesting work on your own time
What the actual fuck? Does this actually exist?

OP, never sign such clauses. They make it impossible to advance yourself and they are analogous to an abusive relationship.

>>6
thanks, it's the perfect loop hole. If asked, I'll just respond that the outside work is interesting and thus cannot be related.

>>9
yes. But depending on what country you live in, or what state, such a clause might not be enforcible. But it is common for employers to hinder you from working a second job, working for competitors, and taking ownership of things you produce outside of work, to the maximum extent of the law, or going beyond the law and hoping you don't know the law.

>>10
yes. It sucks.

>>1
You can just break it. Remember, there is always the "fuck you and your clauses" argument. Be tough guy - ignore Jewish laws. Like Hitler did.

Get a partner and have him do half of the work.  When you finally have something impressive, use that as your portfolio.