There was a time when I had a handful of pet projects and I worked on them full time, but that time has passed and I've focused my efforts. I have only one project and it's this website. I owe my development career to it and have directly or indirectly landed every job and client through it. I can't express how important it is to have projects of your own.
No doubt. I've arguably learned more through personal (pet) projects than on-site training. Pet projects afford you the opportunity to explore more than the "focus to get the job done" work projects.