Fedora (GNOME or KDE) vs Kubuntu – IT student coming from Windows 11 + WSL2 (Ubuntu)

I’m currently using Windows 11 as my main OS, and for programming I’ve been working inside WSL2 with Ubuntu. So I’m comfortable with the Linux side of things (apt, sudo, git, gcc, etc.), but I haven’t used Linux as a full desktop system yet.

I’m studying IT and thinking about switching to Linux as my primary OS. My laptop is a ThinkPad X13 Gen 3 (Intel).

Right now I’m considering:

• Fedora Workstation (GNOME)
• Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop
• Kubuntu (LTS)

I noticed one of my professors is using Kubuntu, which made me look into it more seriously. At the same time, Fedora seems more up to date and closer to a “clean” Linux experience.

What I’ll be using it for:

• C++ projects
• VS Code (maybe Kate as well)
• Git
• general development work (CLI tools, compilers, possibly Docker later)
• everyday use (browser, documents, media)

What matters to me:

• stability (I don’t want updates breaking things randomly)
• good battery life on a laptop
• fast and responsive system
• reasonable amount of customization without unnecessary bloat

Since I’m already used to Ubuntu inside WSL2, I’m wondering if it makes more sense to stay close to the Ubuntu base (Kubuntu), or if Fedora would be a better long-term choice for an IT student.

I’d appreciate real-world experiences, especially on newer Intel laptops, and practical differences between Fedora KDE and Kubuntu. Also curious whether GNOME is worth considering for a development workflow compared to KDE.