HappyDJ,
Nice post, and congratulations on popping your flying cherry. As with the real thing, the chances are there is no going back now; when you aren't flying you'll be thinking about it.
For my opinion - Start with the PPL and look no further than that at the moment. Tell your flying school and most importantly your instructors that you are considering going commercial afterwards, but only work to get the PPL.
When you've got that, see how you like it. The joy with the modular approach is that you can actually do this. You might find that actually, you'd rather just sit with a PPL and pop over to France every now and then.
Continuing towards the CPL, what kind of job can you expect? It's impossible to say. A look through these forums will show a large amount of pessimism with the occasional nugget of optimism. The truth is, everyone is different. One 20yo person may spend the rest of their lives trying to find a job, another may start modular training at 40 and land an airline job at 42.
One of the main faults with pilots, and a number who post here, is that they think that having a license to fly is a license to have a job. It is possible to learn to fly, but still be completely useless in a commercial cockpit. If you are capable, and your history would point that you probably are, then there's no reason you couldn't end up with a job.
I'd suggest working towards the PPL, enjoying that for what it is (a massive commitment and achievement ladder) and seeing how the world looks when you finish. A lot can change in the time it takes to learn about Class D airspace and what to do when the big fan at the front stops.
However, to answer the bullet points:
1. Impossible to say, everyone is unique. Network with commercial pilots and ask them, they can give you a better answer than any sciolist here.
2. The airlines are the pinnacle. Instructing, aerial work, air taxis, coastguard, and smaller commercial outfits are all valid options. Research this as you learn your PPL during 'rest breaks'?
3. The PPL confuser is a godsend for the PPL Ground exams. There are a number of threads on this if you search for 'reading' or 'books'. Above all, your instructor!
Hope this helps.