[Mankhool]

Absolutely agree. I used to work in Vegas. An engineer colleague of mine specifically took a job there because (at that time?) Nevada was the only state, or one of very few, where an employer could not lay claim to his side projects - and he had at least one patent that I know of.

[rmc]

If you are in a place where the employer can lay claim to your side work, then that means you need them to agree to not do so in your contract. There is a demand for software engineers now, so they should sign it.