Pros
The work itself is very interesting and global. The topics are extremely relevant for the world and there is a feeling that you work in the center of the universe. The work is quite sexy.
Cons
The processes at the WB are their own worst enemy and the management could care less about their effectiveness and/or pain points. Almost everyone there has sold their souls to the organization in order to live in the USA. The king of every day is always the one who is the better politician. Additionally, at the WB professionals become de-skilled very quickly. The tasks are menial and there is a tremendous compression of work everywhere and in every field. You have PhDs oftentimes doing clerical, menial tasks. They are there for the prestige and living in Washington. The environment is also very classist and some feel like slaves. Managers are very angry, narcissistic and controlling. Consultants are treated very poorly and they have no benefits. Once you look closely, it's all pure show. You have graduates from Oxford, MIT and Stanford typing and doing data entry day after day. But they travel around the world and they think that's good enough. The glamour of the organization dazzles many without giving any consideration for how their pitiful, menial tasks are hurting their careers. DC. Folks, it's a world of economists. Almost everyone else there lacks value. I don't believe I would ever return to a place where my spirit and soul would die every day I walked through those doors. By the way, I'm a US citizen so I didn't have to sell my soul to the organization just to live in this country. I've also had REAL job in corporate America and US government so I have a basis for comparison as to how much my own career suffered and lost by staying 4 years at the Bank.