Question

一句考研英语长难句，一个单词没看懂？

university men with literary ambitions were quick to turn to these theaters as offering a means of livelihood.
前半句我看懂了，重点是as后面那个offering表示什么？
译文解释为“将其视为一种谋生手段”，但我把offering去掉感觉也读得懂？