It is worth mentioning that it may take a long time to grant the patent right, because it needs to be made public first, and then a substantive examination process is needed. If you reply to the review opinions more often, your patent authorization will take at least a few years, and it is still in line with the provisions of the patent law and the implementation rules.
Of course, if you apply to the Patent Office, you can get the application number and date. This protects your rights, but it is unrealistic before the patent is granted. In addition, if it is only for the sake of "making a name", it will have to wait until the patent is made public and can be searched by the public.
In addition, if you pass the agency, it is not too cheap to add up because it includes the application, substantive examination and the annual fee after authorization, especially if you need an agent to write it on your behalf. Moreover, you need to have a certain understanding of the legal significance of the claim, whether through school funds or out of your own pocket. Otherwise, poorly written claims will either fail to pass the substantive examination, or even if they can pass, the scope of protection is very, very narrow, which is also a very ugly thing. People who know it will feel poor at first glance and may not meet your original intention. . .
In view of this, the channel through which you apply depends on your purpose, because you said that you don't need to think about making money, so it may be an invention that is not so commercialized and tends to be research or academic. Suppose you want to finally get authorization, you can do a search first to see if there are many similar existing technologies. If you are confident in your invention, or if it is really a very good technology, I personally think it is still worth applying, but you should understand the basic structure and legal significance of the patent, write a better disclosure, and don't throw everything to the agent, regardless of the level. There are too many cases represented, so we don't attach too much importance to personal entrustment. The quality of patent writing should be checked by yourself.
A little humble opinion . .