Solo Mining - Do I need to be mining contienously to earn ether?

I'm new to mining ether, so i apologize if this question sounds dumb

Is there a big advantage (in term of speed) in using mining pools vs solo mining?

I'm also wondering if I choose solo mining, does it need to be continuous for it to count? Say i mine for a few hours every day. Would I still eventually be rewarded?

Thanks in advance!!!