That was precisely my point: Don't burn the bridge with your boss. If the company likes you, even in spite of letting you go (for a number of reasons) they may pay the UI anyway. It's at their discretion, not based on some set rule as TZ insists. I've seen this happen multiple times, even in the case of performance or even minor conduct issues. A very close friend is the only example I need. He has proven to me that If the company likes you, in spite of your shortcomings they may pay. Simple as that.
Wow this is lunacy... Ok let's look at this from a rational perspective. 1) You are making money today and hence you don't need to get fired and quit. 2) You are making money today and you are undercapitalized. 3) You are not making money today and you are blaming your current job and only if you could spend more time you would excel. But you are still undercapitalized. If you are in 2 or 3 you should not quit your day job. If you are making today money then one day you will be capitalized enough so that you can quit your job. The reality with trading is that there will always be opportunities to make money. Trading is like surfing on the ocean in that there will always be a wave to surf on. Trading when you are not capitalized enough is asking for problems because you can't step back and say, "hey this is too risky for me..." Instead you go for broke and you will be broke. If you get fired the probability of getting another job right after is going to be hard. If I was an employer I would be very sceptical. And if you tell your next employer, "hey I got fired because I want to try trading and failed" is quit a bit worse than getting fired. Such an excuse shows lack of judgement abilities. My suggestion is to wait, get capitalized and move forward. I am now working in the financial industry and making money at it. It took me five years, but I did step by step... Before this I was just doing software consultations, and training people.
I looked at some of your previous posts.... It appears you and I have similar backgrounds. I am guessing you come from a software background. So let me share my story with you. 5 years ago my wife and I had about 25K sitting around. She said, "hey could you invest this?" I said why not try. I tried and things worked out quite nicely. I used a broker like IB and found that they had an API. I offered my services as a developer for the IB API. As a result I managed to get quite a few gigs solving trading problems. That brought in cash flow and added to my investing account. At this point I still had a day job doing consulting, software training and book authoring. I even took a job at an investment bank so that I could get their name on my resume. Then in Jan 2009 things started to change. I released a product called HippoTrader. My first client decided to hire me as a partner. And now in Jan 2010 I got my first full pay check as a partner in the firm. The pay check was nice. On top of it I still trade my account and just keep adding money to the account. My point is that it took me 5 years to take 25K to a six figure account. I need until the end of 2011 to grow my account to the point where I am 100% capitalized to fit our lifestyles without taking on unnecessary risks. I can have down months and still remain retired. When I wrote I first automated trading system it was profitable and unleveraged it made 40% per anum. I did not know what to think of it, but learned 4 years later it is a darling of a system. I don't trade it today because there are some changes needed in the source code. But will trade it once I get time again. So my suggestion to you is get some time at an investment bank under your belt. Take ANY job even if it is being a junior programmer. My time at the investment bank was absolutely crucial because it allowed me to learn how the big boys play. That in itself is what makes the difference between one trade wonders, and somebody who can make cash consistently...
The point is can't make it blantantly obvious when you get fired otherwise the UI case officer and company officials can deny you UI. You have to be incomptenet but not obviously incompetent. Since you are a programmer you have to mess up functional specs, put wrong data or wrong mapping data. You have to pretend you are still giving it your 100% all and still look you cannot handle the job duties. Basically you are trying hard but just don't have the mental capacity to fullfill the job requirments.
I think you can still collect unemployment benefits if you were fired, but that will depend on the grounds of termination. If the reason is misconduct, you won't be able to collect unemployment benefits. but if it is for poor or unsatisfactory performance, you may be able to collect benefits. But it will still depend on every state...
I like the suggestion of trading while at work. Who knows maybe they won't catch on and you can double dip (make money trading and still get paid by them). I wouldn't suggest openly trying to get fired, just focus your energy on trading and if you do lose your job it's not going to break your heart. If trading at work is not an option I would wait til you had a sufficient bankroll, at least a year's worth of living expenses saved until you decide to go at it alone. I would use all of my vacation/sick days at once to see how you like trading full time and then if you need to take legitimate sick days in the future and they fire you for it I can't see you getting denied unemployment for medical reasons.
Tell your boss you are an investment guru (you've been studying on your lunch hour, taking night courses and posting on Yahoo). Then pop the big question, tell him you'll make him rich if YOU manage his money. (start small, suggest instead of purchasing inventory he take that money and give it to you and you could double it by the end of the month). Next up, have fun with his money. If you lose his money, he'll have to let you go, he won't be able to stand looking at you.