Disclaimer - I am a student who is soon to complete their degree in Game Programming and one of my courses requires that I submit a question regarding a specific field or career specialization in the Game Development realm.

While I know that I will need to put together a portfolio of various environments and assets of my own design, I am sure that there are specific items, milestones, and details that would present myself in the best way to finally make myself competitive in the professional arena. Would any actual level designers or adjacent professionals be able to steer me in the right direction? What are the most common applications, what are the most helpful concepts to be aware of, what pitfall should I avoid, and what is something that you might have wanted to know early on? I know this is broad, but I really am just starting my transition from student to professional and I am finding out that many of the concepts carry over, but the skills are completely different. Thank you!

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That's not your fault, so on to your actual question.

I'm not entirely sure if you're talking about “a portfolio of various environments and assets of your own design” if you're talking about a job application portfolio, or just the collection of things you build.

If you're meaning the one you share with future employers, building a portfolio is going to be unique for you, it should follow what YOU personally have done. Every person will put together something unique for them. A level designer who built a bunch with Garry's Mod should put that. If you've explored a bunch of Mario Maker levels to showcase your skills, then Mario Maker examples it is.

If you're meaning the collection of all the things you've built for your own personal uses, that's going to naturally grow organically but you can encourage it. You absolutely should keep notes, records, documents, and assorted other scraps as you go along for ideas you have, and ideas you want to come back to later. Having your own copy of things in Google Drive or elsewhere might work for you individually, but when you get into the professional world you'll want to talk to the employer about what you can include in your work portfolio. That's usually best done after hitting certain milestones or published events to avoid the perception of being about to flee the company. If they say no or if you don't feel comfortable asking, use the published game and taking screen shots and videos and annotating them with your own notes.

I don't refer to my old stuff often, but recently someone asked me a question that recalled something to mind, so I went to the files and pulled out a sheet of paper I had from 1993 with some old programming notes on them. That was paper, not an electronic system where I could hit the Find button. Good filing systems are important, so build it up with whatever mental hooks you need so you can find it years or possibly even decades letter. Also, get rid of the junk. Deciding what should be kept and what should be trashed can be tricky, but once you've got it figured out, apply it ruthlessly.