how tf do you transfer .NEF

Hello, I've been doing photography for about a year now and finally feel confident enough to start sharing my photos. I have a problem, though. I use a Nikon D3500, and I love it, however whenever I go to transfer photos to my computer, the only app that actually detects my camera is the built-in Windows Photos app, and it only allows me to transfer them to one drive and won't even allow me to preview them in full screen before transferring. I shoot in raw, and I know I can get an SD card reader, but I really just want to transfer photos straight from my camera onto a hard drive or into my editing software. I've tried RawTherapee, darktable, and a couple of others, and nothing works. I'd appreciate some help(preferably something free, I'm broke af rn).

edit: I'm stupid af, I could just transfer them through file explorer onto a drive, idk how I didn't think of that. thnx u/Left-Visit733. I'll also look into getting an SD card reader