Hey Jonah,
I recently broke the CFI pay down here for a fellow future aviator. Feel free to check it out and add any questions you have.
As to the gap between the program and employment, you will be offered a job once you finish your initial CFI checkride (with 2 CFI addons still remaining, meaning you are not yet finished with the program). This allows you to choose a date that suits you the best, be it immediately after finishing, or with some time off. Of course it depends on class availability, but that usually isn’t an issue.
Yarden