As an engineer, I would like to make sure that I can work on side projects, and have the right to commercialize it; that is publishing on the app store as a paid app, or hosting on the web with a subscription fee. Of course, this wouldn't be in competition with the COMPANY.
With that in mind, I have an offer of employment from a company I really like, and this was one of the clauses that stood out to me. Based on this, do I need to ask for explicit permission to work on such projects?
The Employee shall devote his/her whole working time and attention to the employment during the time thereof, and shall not, without the consent in writing of COMPANY_NAME, engage in, or become a director, manager, employee, or agent, of any other company, firm, or individual which competes with or conducts similar business to COMPANY_NAME, during the term of the employment, nor shall the Employee engage in any other business or occupation whatsoever.