Running a node!

I don't know what I'm doing. I just learned about Ravencoin and I believe in what it stands for. I just started mining and also made my biggest coin purchase ever into Raven. I started seeing all the messaging about running a node to support the network and I definitely want to be a part. Turns out you have to install the desktop wallet to run a node. Currently, I'm sending all my mining earnings to my Binance wallet.

I'm not sure if I should switch to the desktop wallet, a hardware wallet, or just leave it as is. I don't know if there are any ramifications or benefits to using the desktop wallet and running a node? If I switched to the desktop wallet, do I just need to ensure I'm backing up the wallet.dat every day? Any advice here for a noob?