On the subject of BAS, it is part of NERC (the Natural Environment Research Council) - a UK government funded research body. It operates 7 aircraft for a combination of direct research, and research support - a BAe-146, a Dornier 228, four twin Otters, and a Dash-7. It is safe to assume that none of these are employing entry level pilots but on the other hand they do all employ people in other support roles as well - airborne scientists, ops management, etc.
BAS jobs are advertised
here, and there's details of the other two aircraft
here. They're part of a much bigger European network of research aircraft which you can read about
here.
This sort of flying is a long way from airline ops, but (particularly if you have a scientific bent) arguably at-least as enjoyable and worthwhile. It's doubtlful that the salaries will ever be as good as on the airlines, but they're still pretty good.
Another interesting company to look at is
Directflight who operate one of the NERC aircraft for them (the BAe-146) along with a couple of fisheries protection aircraft and the Shetlands inter-islands service. Its noticeable that they have very little turnover of pilots, which must say something about what they're like to work for.
It's worth bearing in mind however that most of these non-airline operators are looking for something rather more than just an ATPL. Whether it's faith (MAF), teamwork and low-flying skills (FAAM), intelligent autonomy (BAS) they're going to look at a lot more on your CV than just hours and licence(s).
For myself, I've working in aviation all my life, and have yet to work in the airline industry, nor have I any real desire to. On the other hand, being a pilot whilst an important part of what I am, is only a minority part - science, engineering, management and airworthiness are more at the core of my job.
G